Bangalore suffers as Singh and Gowda slug it out

Bangalore suffers as Singh and Gowda slug it out
H.S. Balram
The Times of India

Bangalore is in the news for all the wrong reasons these days. One, the crumbling infrastructure, badly maintained roads, 24x7 traffic jams, protests from citizens, and threat by IT captains and investors to move to other cities. Two, squabbling coalition partners and inordinate delay in the formation of a full-fledged ministry. Three, frayed tempers, defiance, tension and legal battles over the moratorium on the release of non-Kannada films. Never before has this once Pensioner’s Paradise taken such a beating.

Chief Minister Dharam Singh is caught between the devil and the deep sea. On one side is the pro-rural coalition partner JD(S), which has been putting obstacles in every path he takes. It has restrained him from giving undue importance to the development of Bangalore and pressurised him not to induct some Congressmen into the ministry. Every other day, it threatens to pull out of the coalition government if Singh does not fall in line. On the other hand, the Congress high command has been questioning him on reports of deteriorating infrastructure, even as he is besieged by party’s ministerial aspirants. In the middle of this mess, the Kannada film industry is up in arms.

Singh is walking the tightrope. He is cautious in whatever he says or does. A slip of the tongue or a hasty act will invite the wrath of JD(S) supremo Deve Gowda. He prefers buying time to finding immediate solutions to problems. In the process, he has been harming himself as well as the credibility of his government. In fact, the general public has nicknamed him as ‘Today or Tomorrow CM’. It is six months after the coalition government was formed. Singh appears to be in the driver’s seat but it’s Gowda who has the controls. It is time Singh starts asserting both within the coalition set-up and his own party. He has made a beginning. But that is not enough.

The JD(S) may be putting on a threatening posture, but it will not bring down the government. How can a party, in the wilderness for five years, let go an opportunity to rule, especially when it did not get a majority to form a government on its own? And, the likelihood of the JD(S) aligning with the BJP does not arise, at least till Gowda is at the helm of affairs or the party splits. The BJP is waiting in the wings. In the event of a mid-term poll, however, the odds will be in favour of the BJP.

Within the Congress, the threat to Singh has declined with former CM S.M. Krishna, who was vocal not only against the government’s inability to attend to problems but also Gowda’s daily dose of pinpricks, moving to Maharashtra as its governor. Others like Mallikarjuna Kharge and H.K. Patil have been keeping a low profile. Maybe they are waiting for the cabinet expansion or appointments to boards and corporations to take place. Krishna’s right hand man Shivakumar is handicapped with the mentor not around. But he derives satisfaction from the fact that after Krishna he is the only senior Vokkaliga leader in the Congress. Singh thus faces virtually no dissidence in the party at this juncture.

The cabinet expansion may come through sooner or later. The film row too may be settled. But Singh will continue to face the music on the infrastructure front. Agreed that Singh inherited this problem. Wipro czar Azim Premji had fired the first salvo during the Krishna regime about the deteriorating infrastructure in Bangalore. But by obediently following the pro-rural and anti-urban line of the JD(S), Singh is gradually losing the confidence that Bangaloreans had reposed in Krishna. A strong and financially sound Bangalore is vital. It will benefit the entire state. Investors will not move to other states. IT guns will not look outside Karnataka for their expansion plans.

Gowda and his party must stop looking at Bangalore with blinkered eyes. It’s not just the IT giants who are complaining of poor infrastructure. Residents of almost all areas of Bangalore are protesting about it. The development of cities does not necessarily mean neglect of villages. To be ‘pro-urban’, one need not be ‘anti-rural’. The coalition government must set its priorities right, stop pitting urban areas against rural areas, and put infrastructure at the top of its agenda. Not only for the good of Bangalore but for the entire state.