Anand Krishna’s musings

The first phase of polling in Karnataka went of peacefully last week. Rural areas reported a much higher turnout than urban areas. There is hope that many more younger voters will exercise their franchise. While that remains to be seen, I sincerely hope that voters will cast their votes after giving due thought to the shenanigans that have marred the coalition government over the past 4 years. The coalition partners have spent more time sparring and trying to pull the rug from under each other’s feet than on governance. Not surprisingly, the state’s development has suffered. New investments into the state have slowed down. Infrastructure has not been given as much attention as necessary and Bangalore has palpably worsened.

Yes, the Metro is finally off the blocks- more than a decade after it was first proposed and the first feasibility report was done. But the new international airport has not become operational yet; connectivity issues to Devanahalli remain unresolved and I suspect that for the first 6 months after the BIAL airport becomes functional, it will take more time for passengers from neighbourhoods in South Bangalore to reach the airport and check in than it will to even fly from Bangalore to Delhi or Kolkata. And if the HAL airport remains open (as may well happen), the chaos will only amplify. Interestingly, Bangalore has become a key point on the election manifestos of both the Congress and the BJP- explicit acceptance that the previous governments have let the state capital down badly.

Irrespective of what exit polls predict, the calculus of coalitions and who finally gets to form the government and becomes CM will become clear only towards month-end, when all 3 phases of polling are done and the results declared. Politics makes for strange bed-fellows and my fear is that we may again end up with dirty coalition politics that further stymies Karnataka’s progress. I hope I am proved wrong.