In the run-up to the elections, the Congress–JD(S) coalition, with an eye to capture the three Lok Sabha seats in the city — all of which the Bharatiya Janata Party has won in the last three general elections — has launched an aggressive campaign ‘Brand Bengaluru’, claiming an investment of 1.2 lakh crore for city infrastructure. The BJP is trying to hit back, arguing that the coalition partners are trying to “shed an anti-Bengaluru image by hoodwinking citizens”.
The claim of 1.2 lakh crore investment in the city includes several mega infrastructure projects — elevated corridors, peripheral ring road, suburban rail, Namma Metro Phase II, Cauvery V Stage, and Nava Bengaluru scheme. Most of these projects have been made initial allocations and would be taken up over the next three to five years.
BJP claims credit
But the BJP is clamouring to claim credit for at least some of these. “Two key projects — suburban rail and Namma Metro Phase II — are helmed by the Union government. Other projects — elevated corridors and peripheral ring road — have no guarantee of being realised. The government has made a token allocation for these and has not come out with a firm financing plan,” said BJP leader from the city R. Ashok. “The Congress, except during the tenure of S.M. Krishna, who is now with the BJP, has done little for the city, and the JD(S) has an anti-Bengaluru image,” he argued.
Countering this, KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao, MLA from the city, said, “Metro Phase II and suburban rail are only partly funded by the Union government and most of the expenses are borne by the State government. The Congress has always been at the forefront of providing infrastructure for the city. What is the contribution of the BJP to the city’s infrastructure?”
Coalition arithmetic
The BJP is worried about the coalition arithmetic firming up against it and expansion plans of the JD(S) in the city. More so since there is a strong rumour that JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda might this time contest from Bengaluru North.
The Congress–JD(S) coalition has 17 of the 28 MLAs in the city — 15 Congress and two JD(S). The BJP has 11 MLAs, the lowest it has ever had since delimitation of constituencies in 2008 (17 in 2008 and 12 in 2013).
The vote share of the BJP, which rode on Modi wave in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, crossed 51% in the three seats in Bengaluru. In the 2009 elections, the combined vote share of the Congress and the JD(S) (there was no alliance between the two parties) was higher than that of the BJP’s in Bengaluru Central and Bengaluru North.
Going by this arithmetic, Mr. Rao said they were confident of winning Bengaluru North and Bengaluru Central. BJP insiders admitted that these two seats would pose a challenge to the party.
Bengaluru South, a BJP bastion held by the late Ananth Kumar for six terms, has a sizeable Vokkaliga population. Here too the coalition might give a tough fight, a BJP strategist said. The party is banking on a wave in favour of Mr. Modi, besides sympathy factor.
A source close to the Chief Minister said the JD(S) was keen on expanding its base in the city, something it has not been able to do till date.
A senior BJP leader said, “Unlike in places such as Mandya and Hassan, Vokkaligas largely vote for the BJP in Bengaluru city. But the JD(S) is trying to change this, and we will fight it.”
