In the last assembly elections in Karnataka, the voter turnout in Bengaluru was quite low, as reports by the Election Commission of India indicated that there was only 55 per cent voter turnout in Bengaluru South, North, Central and Urban. This was much lower than the statewide polling percentage of 72.44 per cent in 2018.
But this time the poll body has set a target of 65 per cent for the country’s IT capital and urged the administration to meet it.
Pie told News18 Governance in Karnataka was a mess with respect to the state capital, while talking about the Bengaluru crisis and how it affected the upcoming assembly elections. Excerpts from the interview:
People make hue and cry when it comes to issues like traffic, flood, or other infrastructure related problems. But when the time comes to vote, the people of the city do not come in large numbers to vote. Where is the mismatch?
There are many complex issues. A large number of people are not registered as voters in Karnataka as they are registered in their hometowns, while others who are registered here do not live in the state. This reduces the percentage by 7 to 8 percent. We need a solution where we need to make the election card and number portable, that is, the process of transfer should be easy. It should happen that a person files where he is and his vote gets transferred to that place. I’m sure it’s possible with Aadhaar. Particularly in Bengaluru, despite having a large number of people on file, you have fewer people who actually go out to vote. This is an old problem.
Do you see any connection between elections, development and voters?
I don’t see any disconnect. The government should build infrastructure irrespective of who is in power because it is done with taxpayers’ money. This is people’s money, not charity. By building roads in Bengaluru, they (the government) are not doing any favor to the people or being charitable. If you (the government) get elected, it is your duty; He has a budget and he must stick to it.
How do you solve this? There has been no election for BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) in the last three years?
We have not conducted BBMP elections. Governance in Karnataka goes awry when it comes to Bengaluru. BBMP is not properly staffed and many of them have been transferred. Permanent staff is needed, a full-time mayor for five years to enable proper reforms. It has nothing to do with whether people vote or not. The government sitting in Vidhana Soudha does not want reforms, but wants to sit there and rule Bengaluru, which is a prosperous city. They fear that if Bengaluru becomes self-sufficient, the mayor who runs it will become powerful. The political class does not want reforms and diverts the money meant for the development of Bengaluru to other places to win elections. This is also because Bengaluru is politically insignificant, although we make close to 60 to 65 per cent of the state’s taxes. In terms of political power, we have only 28 seats. It accounts for 16 per cent of the state’s population but only 12 per cent of the assembly seats.
Do you think delimitation would have helped Bengaluru be run better and the city developed more efficiently?
Yes, but the delimitation is not done. No politician wants to do this.
Is there a sense of complacency among the city’s legislators, as many have been elected more than four times and are confident that they will win again?
Complacency has become established and many are in business. The income of a person (political leader) has increased by four digits. Isn’t it shocking? How can it go up to four digits in five years? We are also in business and understand how money is made. Why is no one questioning how he amassed his wealth? Income tax and others should ask questions. There are very few people in India who have such wealth and our country is not rich. We need a strong chief minister who will do what the prime minister does Narendra Modi doing in Delhi. The Chief Minister should bring good governance and improve matters.
Is there hope for Bengaluru?
We always live in hope. If there is no hope then what is left? We live in hope and have lived in hope for the last 35 years and it is continuing. No one knows when this hope will become a reality. See, the metro is running behind schedule. Why has the CEO of BMRCL (Namma Metro) not released the monthly newsletter after January? No one knows what is the progress of Metro. 2 km work has not been done on the home field stretch. This could have been done earlier. They have to push and shove and write letters to the Ministry of Railways and the letters go on circulating from one department to another. Why can’t the CM pick up the phone and call the Railway Minister? This is a double engine government. They don’t want to do it.
What should a Bengaluru resident have in mind when he goes out to vote in this election?
Every voter should elect a person who they think is a good candidate, reasonably honest, will be responsible for their calling and will work for their good. People should keep in touch with them and insist on solving their problems and hope that they will respond. If you trouble the MLAs, they will answer.
Bengaluru has many tags when it comes to traffic woes, floods and solid waste management.
The biggest problem of Bangalore is mobility. It is a prosperous city and has 65 lakh two wheelers and 25 lakh four wheelers. Everyone is mobile. There is a need for good public transport, which has been stuck for the last 15 years. Why can’t the government allow the private sector and startups to run electric vehicles like buses? They can invite companies with at least 100 electric buses to run and you can always control the prices. We can emulate what Singapore has done, where they have three or four private bus companies and the government controls them. Why only BMTC (Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation) should do this? BMTC is a broken system, where absenteeism is high and they are broken. The important thing is to provide facilities to the people, not jobs in the public sector. If you solve the commuting problem by running big and small buses, 50 per cent of Bengaluru’s problems will be solved.
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