Hubli, 16th December 2010

Karnataka, is going through a hype of unprecedented dimensions, over the impending polls to the second and third tiers of the three tier panchayat raj system in the more than two decade history of the movement for the democratic decentralization in Karnataka.
It does not however signify the growing awareness on the part of the political parties in Karnataka, of the importance of the system and the imperative necessity of strengthening the same with view to bringing about the all round improvement of the rural areas. For none of them have ever bothered with this aspect and have not lifted a single finger to promote or strengthen system and they have the track record of consistently trying to emasculate and weaken the system as for as possible.
But the sheer political compulsions have made them zero in on the polls, scheduled to be held by the end of this month. For the BJP, it is an opportunity to get bailed out from the serious of scams in which it has landed itself on its own volition. And an answer to the opposition which have been braying for its blood and for its ouster The Yeddyurappa government has been viewing the system as an opportunity to get the mandate from the rural albeit from the rural areas as an answer to its critics.
For the opposition, the Congress and JDS, who have tried all the tricks in their armoury to unseat the government through means fair or foul, wants to prove that the mandate which the BJP had got in 2008 assembly poll is waning and that the people are against the BJP.
But the moot point is that commonality of interests has not been reflected in the commonality of the approach. The dilemma for them is that they are damned if they come together and more damned if they don’t come together. For they suffer from mutual conflict of interest at the grass root level. One party has to grow at the cost of another in any constituency allocated to their share.
The elections to the taluk and zilla panchayats have become imperative since the five year term of the most of these bodies, are coming to an end by January this year and the constitutional mandate requires that the elections are held before the expiry of the five year term.
But the present government like the Congress coalition led by Mr. Dharam Singh in 2005 was not exactly willing to adhere to the time schedule. It was waiting for the alibis to postpone them. But a direction of the Supreme Court in May requiring state governments to limit the total reservations to 50% came in handy. The total reservations in Karnataka for the SCs STs and the OBCs was more than 60% and the implementation of the same would result in reduction of the seats, for OBCs, a constituency in which BJP was not very comfortable.
And the government grabbed the opportunity to implement the same through the ordinance, in November with the not so friendly Governor having no compunctions in going along the state governments view. The State Election Commission, accordingly started process and came out with a matrix of reservations. And all hell broke lose when the SEC published the matrix. The quota of the OBCs in zilla panchayats came down by 109 seats, and by 482 in taluk panchayts.
Both the Congress and the JDS cried foul and dubbed the measure as something inimical to the OBCs interests. And cried hoarse urging the state government to retrace its steps. It is here that the BJP played its cards well. Not willing to be dubbed as anti OBC on the eve of panchayat elections it made attempts to retrace the steps and proposed to issue another ordinance and as anticipated the Governor turned it down on the ground interalia that it was violative of the Supreme Court’s directions.
It looked as is the Governor had snubbed the BJP again. But the reality was otherwise. It had turned the Governors penchant to its advantage to serve its political interest and silenced the Congress, which was depending too much on the Governor for fixing the government.
Congress which was very vocal in crying foul in the first instance, has been made to eat its own words, when the Governor turned down the second proposal for restoring quota.. It is not known whether it tried in vain to prevail upon the friendly Governor to do so? If it did try, the efforts apparently did not succeed. They lost a political weapon too. The party cans no longer make a political capital of the developments in the forthcoming elations to deride the BJP. For, who stood in the way of the restoration of quota was not the State Government but the Governor. And criticizing the Governor does not benefit them in any way.
Politically also, the BJP is one step ahead of its political rivals. BJP finds that the time is ripe for holding the elections to the grass root level democratic institutions. It has fully prepared itself for the hustings. It has virtually launched the election campaign too and the Chief Minister Mr. Yeddyurappa is touring the districts implementing the specially designed government programme of the distribution of sarees to rural women, with a view to wooing them. With a tongue in the cheek statement, the state BJP President, Mr. Eshwarappa has said that the party would make up whatever the quota the OBCs lost by providing the increased representation to this section in the allotment party tickets. He has through this statement thrown a gauntlet at the opposition.
On the other hand, the opposition parties, both the Congress and the JDS are in total disarray. They are yet to come out of their fixation of berating the government for the plethora of scams including the land grabbing by the Minister, to come to terms with the political realities facing them.
As the things stand today, the BJP appears to have all the aces up its sleeves. Going by the track record of the previous panchayat elections, rural voters have a tendency to go with the party in power always. It had benefited the undivided Janata Dal and the Congress in the past. It maybe the BJPs turn to derive the advantage this time. Has the gamble by Yeddyurappa paid off? It appears so at the moment..
For what the disarrayed opposition is busy in doing is to endlessly hark on scams, instead of listing out the failure of the government in strengthening the panchayat raj system. They have not been able to come out with manifesto on what they would do to achieve goal, if they are trusted with power at the panchayat level. The government, which has ace in its sleeves, can afford not to talk about it. But the opposition can ill afford not doing it.
Yeddyurappa finds himself in a win win situation. He can glow in glory in case of win, terming it as a renewed mandate in favour of his policies. In the case of adverse verdict, he can say that the opinion is warped, with the urban voters not being part of it and get away within. Besides the BJP, what ever may be verdict, cannot afford to dislodge him because of the TINA (There Is No Alternative) factor.

Eom 0816hrs. 16.12.2010

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