Days before the 2013 elections, the Congress in its manifesto had promised a new law for Bengaluru to bring in all aspects of water, transport, housing, power and other bodies. While that did not happen even with five years of Congress rule, a similar promise to set up a management committee for the city not only appears in its 2018 manifesto, but also in the BJP’s Bengaluru manifesto for this Assembly elections.
For many, manifestos have become a hackneyed political tool replete with vague, recycled promises. However, while many promises find themselves in the 2013 and 2018 manifestos for the city, what is different this time around is the amount of detail put into each point. The reason may be the citizen manifesto lobbied for by the citizens for Bengaluru.
Take for instance, the intermodal public transport system — Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) as the Congress calls it; Bengaluru Metropolitan Transit Authority (BMTA) as the BJP calls it — which finds its place for the first time in the manifestos of both parties. Even calls for open wells to recharge rainwater — stated in the citizen’s manifesto — finds mention in the Congress manifesto.
Similarly, civic body reforms, pedestrian infrastructure and aspects of public transport mirror the citizens’ manifesto. “We met a lot of politicians across parties and we are happy that a lot of suggestions are taken seriously in the manifesto,” says Srinivas Alavilli from CfB, who believes that the manifesto will become important to take any newly-elected government to task.
Surprisingly, the manifesto of the Janata Dal (Secular) has no specific promises for the city, and instead claims credit for the development of the Metro, Sirsi Circle flyover, ITPL and Outer Ring Road.
Another aspect of civic action that has been reflected in the manifesto is the thrust on suburban rail. Vague promises of circular rail is expanded to Bruhat Bengaluru Suburban Railu (BJP) or higher investments (Congress) this year around. “It was after the protests and memorandums from citizens that there was movement on suburban rail. Since the protests, the BJP-led Centre and Congress-led State government have had nearly 10 meetings, and we are seeing some tangible progress,” says Sanjeev V. Dyamannavar, a member of the citizen-driven advocacy group, Praja RAAG.
With Bengaluru earning the moniker of a city of activists, both major parties have promised to implement forms of ward committees and higher autonomy to the civic body, which were largely sidelined or absent in the 2013 election manifestos. Considering both parties have had their shot at governance of Bengaluru, these promises may be a mere eye-wash, believes Kathyayini Chamaraj, executive trustee of CIVIC, a voluntary citizens’ initiative.
“It’s been 25 years since the 74th Amendment (decentralising municipal powers), but both parties, when they were in power, weakened citizen participation. The reason is clear: they do not want to delegate power to any non-political person. This year too, the wordings do not suggest radical change. Committees will be nominated, which means they will be political appointees,” she said.
