Bengaluru: Exactly 15 days before the Bengaluru votes to elect the new city corporation, a good news came from New Delhi when the Union Urban Development Ministry's nationwide survey of cities declared Bengaluru as the cleanest state capital in India.
Bengaluru also made it to the list of top-10 cleanest cities in India. It bagged the 7th rank. It is indeed a very heartening news for both the ruling Congress and the main opposition BJP in the state. Because the civic mess has been the main issue for a long time and it is expected to play a major role in the BBMP elections. The BJP was in power in the BBMP during previous term. The Congress, which is ruling the state, is accusing the BJP of ruining Bengaluru and blaming it for the garbage crisis. Armed with the 'Cleanest City' certificate, the BJP is once again seeking votes in the current election. The Congress is also taking credit for it saying that it has restored city's beauty after it came to power in May 2013.
The Greater Bengaluru City Corporation or BBMP is one of the five largest city municipalities in India. Over 71 lakh people are eligible to vote in the election. The city has a population of over 1 crore and it is adding 5000 new entrants every day.
The Greater Bengaluru Municipal Corporation was created in 2007 and the total number of wards went up to 198 after that. Many suburban cities have also been included to BBMP. Since Independence, the Congress has ruled Bengaluru for over 50 years. The opposition Janata Parivar and the BJP together have ruled for 10 years. Bengaluru was considered a bastion of the Congress party for a long time. In the mid 1990s, the BJP made inroads into the city. The JDS led by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda is a marginal player in the city.
There are 28 Assembly seats in BBMP limit, of which 13 seats are held by the Congress and 12 by the BJP; three seats are held by the JDS.
Money power
Money plays a big role in BBMP polls. According to an estimate, on an average all candidates put together Rs 7-8 crore to be spent for each Ward. A whopping Rs. 1500-1700 crores will be spent on the BBMP elections. Each Corporator gets ward grant of Rs 3 crore per year, thereby getting Rs 15 crore in five years. All civil work in their respective ward will be handled by the local Corporator. Most collect money from local builders for each work. In a way it is a money making business for most candidates. It explains the mad rush for BBMP tickets. Some use it as a stepping stone to enter Assembly and Parliament. The real estate lobby plays a big role in BBMP polls.
Current situation of Congress
The Congress is facing an uphill task. It has to recapture the BBMP from the BJP to send out a strong message that Siddaramaiah government is strong. The Congress has five ministers from Bengaluru city.
All five – Home minister K J George, Transport minister B Ramalinga Reddy, Information & Infrastructure Development Minister Roshan Baig, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Dinesh Gundurao and Agriculture Minister Krishna Byregowda – will have to work hard to ensure that the Congress wins the BBMP polls. A defeat would certainly weaken the position of Siddaramaiah and likely to lead to a revolt against his leadership. Siddaramaiah who actually ignored Bengaluru city in the first one and a half years started doing the rounds of Bengaluru and announced several projects and measures for the city development.
The Congress is facing internal rebellion over the allotment of tickets. The aspirants who missed it and the sitting Corporators who have been denied the tickets may cause some trouble in certain pockets. The Congress is planning a mega campaign across the city in addition to its time tested door-to-door campaigning. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah himself is likely to lead the campaign.
Senior leaders of the Congress, C K Jaffer Sharief, B K Hariprasad, M Veerappa Moily and others, are also likely to campaign for the party. The senior most leaders of the Congress and former chief minister S M Krishna is the most popular face of the party in Bengaluru. Nobody knows if he will campaign in this election.
Current situation of BJP
For the BJP which ruled the BBMP for five years, it is going to be a tough battle. In the last election, it won 112 wards and came to power. The party is now facing many problems. Former deputy chief minister R Ashoka is leading the BJP campaign. Some factions within BJP are opposed to Ashoka and they are likely to either remain neutral or work against him. All three Lok Sabha seats in the BBMP limits are held by the BJP. Two city MPs Ananthkumar and D V Sadananda Gowda are cabinet ministers at the Centre. The third one P C Mohan represent Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha seat.
In 2010, then chief minister B S Yeddyurappa led the BJP campaign and spent huge money on the elections. This time the BJP does not have the unlimited supply of money as they are no longer in power in the state.
However, local leaders are confident of winning the BBMP once again. If it happens, it will be a big blow to the ruling Congress.
JDS – A marginal player
The JDS has always been a marginal player in the BBMP elections. Party supremo H D Deve Gowda is hoping that the BBMP will throw up a hung corporation and he can be the kingmaker in such a scenario. He has also requested the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal to instruct his local unit to back the JDS. Kejriwal is yet to take a call on this. The AAP has decided not to contest in the polls citing shortage of resources. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the AAP was polled less than 60,000 votes in the BBMP limits.
Other players
Other political parties like AIADMK, DMK, Muslim League, BSP, CPI, CPM are also contesting in some seats. Even if they can't win, they can eat into the votes of two major players – Congress and BJP.
FACTS
Total number of voters: 71.80 lakh
Male: 37.68 lakh
Female: 34.10 lakh
Third Gender: 1,141
Last Date for submission of nominations: August 10
Last date to withdraw nominations: August 13
Poll Day: August 22
Date for re-poll, if necessary: August 24
Counting of votes and declaration of results: August 25
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