Prof. Narendar Pani, School of Social Sciences, National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) told The Hindu what the mandate means for the city and the political scenario in the State.
Why was BJP not affected by the anti-incumbency factor?
We have a peculiar situation where people don’t identify problems of the city with the BBMP, which has no identity of its own. Many do not even know who the mayor is. Voters have always voted for or against the State government in BBMP polls. The garbage crisis was seen as an issue to be resolved by the State government. Even when the BBMP council was in place, Mr. Siddaramaiah had taken it upon himself to tackle the problem. In that way, this is Bengaluru's mandate on Mr. Siddaramaiah’s government.
A careful analysis shows that the voter is also sceptical of the BJP as the number of their councillors has declined from 2010. At the same time, he is not enamoured by the Congress either. Congress has improved its performance as compared to its decimation in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. BJP has lost steam since 2014 and 2010.
Mr. Siddaramaiah is also handicapped by the way he is not able to connect with the urban voter. At the same time, Congress did well in the recent gram panchayat polls. The dichotomy is clear.
It was almost an issue-less election. Though higher than 2010, voter turnout was nevertheless lukewarm. Did mainstream parties fail to connect with voters?
Yes, the mainstream political parties did not offer anything radically different. Trifurcation also did not become an issue. More than mainstream parties, it is the problem with the issue of our identity with the city. Citizens do not see BBMP as an organisation crucial to solving their issues. The stakes are higher for them in the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls.
Bengaluru contributed most funds to AAP. Is it not the same people who vote in BBMP elections?
The AAP fundraiser was more of a very small, elitist affair. It is not cover a large chunk of society. The very fact that AAP did not contest these polls indicates that they did not fancy their prospects. Even if they had contested, I do not think the results would have been drastically different.
How do you see this mandate panning out in the next five years?
The longetivity of this council itself is in question if the President gives ascent to the amendment bill. Moreover, the CM has announced that the government will appoint a separate minister for Bengaluru. This minister will effectively work as how a mayor should. The major chunk of funding will again come from the State government. This will again undermine the council.
