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Uphill task for Bommai as challenges pile up beyond politics
Bengaluru Karnataka chief minister Basvaraj Bommai has barely a year to go before the state goes into poll mode for 2023 elections, leaving him a very small window to deal with dissent, show progress and circumvent all challenges that have piled up over the last two years during the tenure of former chief minister BS Yediyurappa
Bengaluru Karnataka chief minister Basvaraj Bommai has barely a year to go before the state goes into poll mode for 2023 elections, leaving him a very small window to deal with dissent, show progress and circumvent all challenges that have piled up over the last two years during the tenure of former chief minister BS Yediyurappa.
In reality, there has been over three years of non-performance as politics trumped development or governance even in the HD Kumaraswamy-led Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S)-Congress coalition government.
Bommai, analysts said, has a huge task on his hands if he wants to be seen as a long-term bet for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and not just an interim choice.
The chief minister is betting big on the Mekedatu balancing reservoir-cum-drinking water project that shows resilience and commitment not to back down against the threats of Tamil Nadu over Cauvery river water, which strokes emotions on both sides of the border.
“Tamil Nadu has always made a political capital of inter-state water dispute,” Bommai said on Thursday. The Tamil Nadu unit of the BJP have begun protests against the proposed Mekedatu project.
Bommai said that he will appraise the union leadership on the issue and will follow through to get the detailed project report approved.
The chief minister, who has served as water resources minister for five years since 2008, has been keen to get Karnataka’s long-pending irrigation projects back on track. In his very first visit to Delhi after taking office, he pursued the Centre to make all major irrigation projects including Mekedatu, Kalasa Banduri, Yethinahole, Upper Krishna and Upper Bhadra projects to be taken up as national projects.
He also takes over as Chief Minister just at a time when Covid-19 is again rearing its ugly head in the state with neighbouring Kerala and Maharashtra witnessing a surge in Covid-19 infections. Yediyurappa had to deal with floods the very month he took over as chief minister but was lucky did not to face the Covid-19 pandemic problem then. However, Yediyurappa presided over affairs during two waves of the pandemic. Bommai has the additional burden of the floods, pandemic, setting right the economy and containing dissent within the party after Wednesday’s cabinet formation.
A significant number of core-BJP legislators have been left out of a Cabinet which appears to be composed again only of those wanted by Yediyurappa, Hindustan Times reported on Wednesday.
Supporters of Shrimant Patil, who was among the 17 who defected to the BJP in 2019, held protests in Kagwad on Thursday.
Several other seniors have been left out of the Cabinet and with just four vacancies remaining out of the total 34 portfolios, it remains to be seen how Bommai and the high command placate dissidents to ensure the saffron outfit comes back to power in 2023 on its own.
There is also a challenge to repair the image of brand Bengaluru, which has taken a beating as a Covid-19 hotspot and a city with one of the poorest infrastructure in the country, despite being one of the most industrious.
Almost every single road in Bengaluru is in tatters and the rains are making it harder for people to resume normalcy after being locked in their homes for months due to the pandemic.
Analysts said that perhaps the biggest challenge for Bommai is to try and step out of Yediyurappa’s shadow and not be seen as a puppet or “rubber stamp”.
There is also the sword of corruption hanging on several BJP legislators including Yediyurappa, his son BY Vijayendra and other family members.
