Floods to Covid: Key challenges for the new CM

Bengaluru: For Basavaraj Bommai, who took over as Karnataka chief minister on Wednesday, his tenure will not be an easy one

Bengaluru: For Basavaraj Bommai, who took over as Karnataka chief minister on Wednesday, his tenure will not be an easy one. From handling the floods to keeping the leaders happy to run the government that is facing a fund crunch, the new chief minister has his hands full on all fronts from day one. Here are some of the main challenges Bommai will face during his tenure.

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Handling the floods

The immediate challenge for Bommai is to address the flood situation in the northern and coastal parts of Karnataka. So far, 10 people have lost their lives and the Opposition has accused the BJP of playing politics, while the people of the state are facing a natural calamity. On Wednesday, Bommai said that the central government has released funds and he will be making a personal visit to flood- affected areas. Over the past few days, residents of flood-affected areas have been raising voices against the government’s inaction. Providing them reassurance will certainly be high on his priority list.

The Covid-19 challenge

On the Covid-19 front, even though the number of cases have come down, experts are predicting a third wave to hit the state, which is still lagging in providing vaccines. Ensuring that the state doesn’t witness another Covid wave is high on the priority, said the new chief minister on Monday. During the past two waves, it was Yediyurappa who led the state’s Covid response. Being the state with the second-highest death rate so far, he has a big challenge ahead of him. A lot will, however, depend on who is the new health minister. K Sudakar, outgoing health minister, is said to have done a decent job in handling Covid.

Striking a balance between the high command, BSY and RSS

Bommai is a candidate acceptable to the three main stakeholders in Karnataka BJP – Party’s central leadership, BS Yediyurappa, and the RSS faction. But this could pose a problem for Bommai. In the days ahead, there are chances of him getting pulled between three powerhouses over decision making. With all three groups trying to assert their influence on governance, Bommai will have to strike a middle ground and balance all factions. His political mentor Yediyurappa could be his biggest problem as he would like to remain a de-facto chief minister, which, other BJP leaders would not like. Striking a more secular and socialistic outlook may not be easy in the present BJP state unit having several hardliners.

Control dissidence within the party

Soon after Yediyurappa announced his resignation, MLAs who joined the BJP from the Congress and JD(S) during the 2019 political crisis, were in panic. The BJP government came to power because of these “rebel MLAs”. With Bommai’s appointment, the state will see a new cabinet and there are speculations that some of them may lose important portfolios. When Yediyurappa last reshuffled the portfolios, there was a huge hue and cry among ministers, forcing the CM to conduct the exercise thrice within a fortnight.

Bommai will have to play a balancing act to ensure that all leaders in the party – rebels and other leaders – are kept happy. A job not easy.

Recovering from financial troubles

Bommai on Wednesday said that the government will focus on maintaining fiscal discipline through efficient utilization of resources and reducing expenditure amidst the pandemic. He said that he has directed the officials to focus on time-bound implementation of development programmes with interdepartmental coordination. He expected officials to reduce unnecessary expenditure to a minimum of 5%. A new system to dispose of files without delay would be adopted, he said.