In an election result that has the potential to have an effect on the fortunes of 2 of the largest political parties in India, the hard fought Karnataka elections has seen the coming of the BJP to the cusp of power in a South Indian state. Till now the BJP has always been castigated as the party of North India, and that South India would always be out of its grasp. However, ever since the last election when the BJP became the largest political party (until the Congress merged some breakaway legislators), the BJP has always been seeing this dream as around the corner. First it agreed to support the JD(S) for half the term, and then when its turn came, it was betrayed by the same party (not something knew to the party since Mayawati has done the same to the party earlier).
There are many points that the BJP can claim with this victory:
- The claim of finally having broken into the states of South India
- Being able to beat back infighting and cashing in on a sympathy wave (so even though the BJP was part of the previous Government, it did not get tainted with any anti-incumbency wave
- Continuing in a string of victories after the morale enhancing Gujarat victory; something that is likely to keep the morale of the cadres high
- The emergence of another strong BJP leader in the form of B S Yeddyurappa who fought off all intra-party dissidence (for the time being at least)
How many times have you dreaded the prospect of paying a utility bill. Where the electricity or water is provided by a Government department, the prospect of queuing up outside a dingy office, with a long queue and in the hot sun is one that most people shirk from doing, until absolutely necessary. Hence the concept of either the friendly neighborhood all-purpose man who will do this duty for a price, or the private companies who are making it a business to make it easy to pay utility bills. However, sometimes even the Government can think about citizens, and make it easier for them to pay such bills:
BANGALORE: Ever wanted to pay your utility bills while at a mall or supermarket? This could soon be possible, with the directorate of Electronic Delivery of Citizen Services (EDCS) likely to set up BangaloreOne kiosks at shopping centres soon.
The Governor of Karnataka, Rameshwar Thakur, must be a most worried man. In this time and age, it is clearly understood that the Governor is the man of the Central Government, and hence in this case, the Governor would be seen to be acting in the best interest of the Congress. However, past judgments by the Supreme Court have severely bound the hands and feet of the Governor in terms of biased or arbitrary action. In fact, Karnataka is the home of the SC’s Bommai Judgment where the Supreme Court started setting ground rules for what the Governor can do and cannot do in cases of political uncertainity. This was then followed by the judgment in the Bihar case that singed the Congress Government, cost them a pliant Governor and also earned them black marks from the President who was for the first time castigated by the Supreme Court for non-application of mind.
Till a couple of days back, the Congress seemed to be in a superior position, with Deve Gowda refusing to support the BJP. The Congress could then work on willing JD(S) members, and eventually get enough numbers to escape the anti-defection act. The wily farmer saw this coming, realized that he was standing on the edge of political insignificance, and quickly swallowed his pride and went back to the BJP. And now that the MLA’s supporting the Congress’s white hope have fled in the pursuit of power in the hands of the BJP, the Congress is left with little options.
Just around 20 days after the BJP and the JD(S) parted ways in Karnataka, and that too after a bitter quarrel with Deve Gowda hurling all sorts of abuse against the BJP, and the BJP calling the entire JD(S) a party of back-stabbers and betrayers, it seems likely that these 2 parties will form an alliance as if nothing has happened, with the JD(S) letting the BJP have the Chief Ministership of the state.
This is a tremendous deal for the BJP, since they have never been close to power in any of the Southern States (in fact, they do not have much of an electoral base in Kerala and Tamil Nadu).And it is even more pronounced because the BJP has been in a sort of slow melt-down after it lost power nationally in 2004, and it was a massive blow to the party when it became clear that the JD(S) was not willing to transfer power to the BJP and would break the agreement.