‘Deve Gowda should become PM 100 times’

The house where Deve Gowda was born.

Hardanahalli: Of beautiful roads and barren farms
What does it take to become a model village? It helps that a prime minister was born there, discover Vicky Nanjappa and photographer Reuben N V.
Hardanahalli village is located on an eight-lane highway. This village is the birth place of Haradanahalli Doddegowda Deve Gowda, former prime minister and Janata Dal-Secular leader.

Every villager says with pride, “Idu Gowdru uru (this is Deve Gowda’s native place).” A look around and one realises why Haradanahalli is called a model village.

Nearly 300 houses have been constructed free of cost for the villagers who have nothing but good things to say about the former prime minister.

“He has done so much for us,” says Hanume Gowda, a resident of the village who was part of the celebration when Deve Gowda became the prime minister in June 1996. He takes us around the village and shows us the primary health centre, the schools and the new houses.

‘Deve Gowda should become PM 100 times’
Hanume Gowda then shows us two houses — one where Deve Gowda was born and another where he grew up. As we enter the house where he JD-S supremo was born, which is located in a very small lane in the village, we are greeted by his aunt Devamma.
Does he come here very often, we ask. With a big smile, she says, “Four times every year, without fail. He has a meal with us every time he is here.”

We then ask an obvious question, “Do you want him to become the prime minister once again?”

Devamma, along with her daughters and daughters-in-law who are cooking inside, says in chorus, “A man like him should become prime minister a hundred times.”

We are then escorted to the house where Deve Gowda grew up. The house is clearly in a state of neglect as nobody lives there. However, there is a plan to renovate it shortly, the villagers say.

The roads in Haradanhalli.

From PWD contractor to PM
A tour through Haradanahalli and the rest of Hassan constituency, from where Deve Gowda is contesting this election, justifies complaints made by the other political parties. The roads here are in excellent condition.
Deve Gowda and his family have been very particular about retaining the Public Works Department portfolio every time the family has been in power.

Deve Gowda was a PWD contractor before he started his political journey. In the Ramakrishna Hegde cabinet, he held the PWD portfolio; since then his son H D Revanna has held the PWD ministership every time the family has a part to play in Karnataka’s government.

Karnataka political circles quip that the Deve Gowda family is ready to compromise on the chief minister’s office if they support a coalition government, but at no cost will they give up the PWD portfolio.

The son of the soil has failed
Despite the excellent roads and even greater connectivity, the biggest irony is that the residents of Haradanahalli just do not have enough buses.
Residents tell us there are three buses, which ply on these road the entire day, making it difficult for segments of the local population like college students to commute.

Another major problem, which Deve Gowda — who never fails to brand himself as a son of the soil — has failed to resolve is the misery of local farmers.

The potato crop, which is the major source of income in Hassan, has failed yet again this year due to disease. Despite several pleas, the government has refused to provide a minimum support price for their crop, farmers say.

They lament that the crop next year too is expected to be bad since there is a major fertiliser crisis. A bag of fertiliser, which usually costs Rs 300, is being sold at double the price in the blackmarket, which not many farmers can afford.

Deve Gowda, the farmers say, should take this up immediately with the state government and demonstrate that he is truly the saviour of the farmer.

Mangalore: In BJP bastion, Congress makes inroads

Muslim women participate in a BJP rally in Mangalore.

The battle for the Dakshina Kannada constituency, previously known as the Mangalore constituency, is an interesting one.

While the Bharatiya Janata Party is looking to defend this seat for the fifth consecutive time, the Congress is hopeful of a triumph.

Ask voters in this coastal city and political leaders (barring the BJP ones, of course), and they will tell you that the Congress has a clear chance of an upset.

BJP candidate Nalin Kumar Kateel, a Sangh Parivar activist and back-room manager, was a surprise choice. Kateel is not well-known and that is expected to hurt the BJP. On the other hand, veteran Congress candidate B Janardhan Poojary is famous in these parts and has a reputation for being a short tempered and honest politician.

Voters seem inclined to give the 70-year-old Poojary, who last won Mangalore in 1991, a chance to win what could be his last election.

What damaged the BJP
Delimitation has also damaged the BJP’s chances. Key areas have shifted out of the constituency after delimitation. Kodagu, which is now part of Mysore constituency, is a BJP stronghold and its voters opted for the BJP no matter who the candidate was.
In the last five Lok Sabha elections, voters in Kodagu gave the BJP a lead of about 50,000 votes.

Thanks to delimitation, areas like Belthangady and Moodubidri have become part of the Dakshina Kannada constituency. This is advantageous for the Congress as the party secured a majority of votes from these two places.

The attacks on churches last September has made Christians move away from the BJP. During the Karnataka assembly election last year, many Christians had voted for the BJP in Mangalore.

However, a few months after the election, the churches were attacked. The Christians blamed the BJP government for its failure to protect the community.

A few weeks later came the notorious attack on women in a pub by the Sri Ram Sene. And though the BJP denied any links with the Sene, the state government was blamed for its lethargic response, especially by young voters.

Walter Nandalike, managing director and editor-in-chief, Daijiworld, in Mangalore, says the Christian mindset has changed this past year and there is great insecurity as a result of which the community may not vote for the BJP

BJP leader Nalin Kumar Kateel on the campaign trail.

The caste factor

A critical factor, not surprisingly, is caste. The Billava community has the largest vote share in the Dakshina Kannada constituency numbering around 450,000 voters. There has been a movement among the Billavas to support Poojary, who belongs to the community.
BJP leaders argue that several of its workers are Billavas, but Congress spokespersons counter this, saying despite working for the BJP, the Billavas have not been given any key positions in the BJP.

BJP candidate Kateel is from the Bunt community which has around 250,000 voters. The area has seen a constant tussle for political supremacy between the Bunts and Billavas; this time the two communities may vote for its respective caste candidates.

The remaining votes in the constituency are divided between the Christians, Muslims and scheduled castes and tribes. Muslims and SC/STs have been traditional Congress voters.

Janardhan Poojary undertakes a door-to-door campaign.

‘If we don’t win, we should wind up’
Congress spokesperson Kallige Taranath Shetty believes the trends are in his party’s favour since it won four out of the eight assembly segments in the constituency.
“This is our best chance,” he says. “If we do not win this time, it is better for the Congress to wind up and not contest the Dakshina Kannada seat in the future.”

Monappa Bhandary, the BJP’s district president, argues that Mangalore voters have thrice rejected Poojary and are unlikely to change their position this election. “We are not looking at caste equations,” he says, “unlike the Congress and we have projected a leader who is acceptable to all.”

‘15% of Muslims will vote for the BJP’
How much will the attacks on the churches and the Shri Ram Sene’s assault on women in a city pub hurt the BJP’s chances?
Mahendra Kumar, the Bajrang Dal’s state chief, declares, “The BJP candidate is a Hindutva worker and all Hindus in the constituency will vote for him.”

Shri Ram Sene chief Pramod Muthalik, intriguingly, sings another tune. “Poojary will win without a doubt. Diverting from the Hindutva angle will hurt the BJP very badly this time. The Sene has decided to stay away from politics. We have taken a neutral stance and decided not to campaign or support anyone,” he says.

Dr V S Acharya, Karnataka’s voluble home minister, declares, “Every community knows how well the BJP government in Karnataka has handled every issue. I have spoken to voters and they are proud of us.’

Anwar Manipaddy, vice-president of the BJP’s minority cell, claims a hate campaign has been initiated against the BJP. “I have visited many constituencies and the Muslims in the state know they have been taken for a ride by the Congress. They have realised that communal clashes occur more when the Congress is in power. From 1948 there have been 3,368 communal clashes of which 3,311 have taken place during the Congress regime.”

“I can say with confidence that at least 15 per cent of Muslims will vote for the BJP,” he says. “The talk of the Muslims rejecting a Parivar man is rubbish. I am sure my community feels safer under a Parivar man.”

Development, not religion, is the issue for BJP
Vikram Hegde, a senior advocate in Mangalore, feels moral policing will impact the BJP’s chances.
“Moreover, the caste factor will also come into play. The Billavas are likely to vote only for Poojary and this is due to the tussle between the Bunts and Billavas. Kateel is a Bunt and this will draw Billava votes away from him,” says Hegde.

The BJP realises the importance of presenting a secular face since the minorities constitute nearly 22 per cent of the constituency of over 1.4 million voters.

The party issues press statements each time a Muslim or Christian joins the party. During every BJP event, the march is led by four burqa-clad women carrying the BJP flag. In its election speeches here, BJP leaders have not once raised the church attacks, the pub incident or moral policing. The thrust is on development and getting back Indian funds illegally parked in Swiss banks.

“It is insecurity which has made the BJP resort to such tactics,” Congress activists say. “These women may take part in rallies, but tell us if they will vote for the BJP.”

Congress leaders remind voters about the violence that took place in Mangalore. Poojary tells voters during his door to door campaign that if the BJP wins the Mangalore Lok Sabha seat, there will be more trouble in the constituency.

Mangalore Christians issue ‘10 commandments’ to defeat BJP

Ivan D'Souza

Mangalore has been witnessing a lot of violence since the past one year and the most prominent among them was the attack on churches by Bajrang Dal activists who claimed that the attack was carried out to protest against conversions.

The Christian community, which is dominant in Mangalore, had never witnessed such violence before and this was the first time that bad blood between the Hindus and Christians had been created in this part of the state. The Mangalore assembly constituency was bagged by the Bharatiya Janata Party in last year’s elections and the party had no one but the Christian voters to thank as they voted for them in large numbers.

However, this time round, Christians in Mangalore have taken it upon themselves to defeat what they call the communal forces who are dividing society. Ivan D’souza, executive committee member of the Catholic diocese of Mangalore told rediff.com that every Christian in Mangalore is waiting eagerly for April 30, 7 am, to cast their vote and defeat the communal forces.

The thinking among the Christians in Mangalore revolves around their security. The attacks on churches had a big impact on their mindset and each one is thinking of his own security and will see to it that the BJP is not elected.

D’souza explains that there has been such an awareness drive among the Christian community that after the attack on churches, nearly 39,000 Christians from Mangalore have enrolled themselves in the voters list.

“Christians are strictly adhering to what they say are ‘ten commandments’ (not to be confused with the original ones) to electorally outnumber the ‘communal forces’,” D’Souza said.

The Ten Commandments are:

1) Ensuring that your name is on the electoral roll.
2) Help the poor, marginalised, underprivileged people to have their names on the ER.
3) Scrutinise election manifestos of various political parties.
4) Not to vote for parties/candidates that are communal, casteist, criminal, corrupt and fascist.
5) Not to accept any bribe/reward to vote for any party/candidate.
6) Cast your vote early and also get others to do so on voting day.
7) Insist on tendered vote under Rule 49-P of the Conduct of Elections Rules 1961.
8) Exercise your ‘electoral right’ by declining to cast your vote (under the provision of Rule 49-O of the Conduct of Elections Rules 1961) if you are not satisfied with any of the candidates.
9) Report immediately, in writing, cases of bribery (for votes) booth-capturing, bogus voting.
10) Bring serious concerns like the disenfranchisement of a whole community/village to the notice of the chief election commissioner.

“The last time Christians gave the BJP a chance, but this time it is a question of the security of Christians in Mangalore who have been a peace-loving community. Thanks to the attacks on churches, there has been a sense of insecurity among the Christians and several of them have even planned on migrating to other places. It is unfortunate to see that such a thought has cropped in among the Christians who are the dominant community in Mangalore,” said D’Souza.

“I know that the BJP will continue to remain in power in the state and this is a vote against the person contesting the Lok Sabha elections. This would surely make a difference. We are not aiming to defeat the BJP, but the vote against them this time would surely demoralise them,” D’Souza added.

“Our fight is against the government which failed to protect us. There is absolutely no problem with the other communities in Mangalore and the relationship especially with Hindus has been cordial. We have to ensure that Mangalore returns to what it was before since everyone is fed up of violence and this disturbance has been caused between the two communities for the first time in the history of the city,” D’Souza said.

In Shimoga, a CM’s son faces a former CM

Congress candidate and former state chief minister S Bangarappa on campaign trail.

Vicky Nanjappa and photographer Reuben NV travel to Shimoga in Karnataka, where a former chief minister is trying to save his political legacy.
It is a battle that has aroused much interest in Karnataka. The contest between B Y Raghavendra, son of Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, and former chief minister S Bangarappa of the Congress in Shimoga parliamentary constituency is touted as the most interesting battle in the state.

Bangarappa is the sitting MP of this constituency.

The battle lines are drawn and both candidates are going all out to win this prestigious battle, which will either ensure the end of the political journey for Bangarappa or the rise of Raghavendra, who is tipped to step into his father’s shoes.

Bangarappa, who has earned the tag of a party-hopper, had last year contested elections on a Samajwadi Party ticket from the Shikaripura assembly constituency in Shimoga against B S Yeddyurappa and lost badly. A lot of hype had surrounded him then as he had never lost an election before. However, the Karnataka assembly elections changed his fortunes.

Raghavendra, on the other hand, is hopeful of carrying on the winning streak that his father achieved a year ago. He is confident of winning by a huge margin.

Real battle is between Congress & BJP

The mood in Shimoga is mixed with one section backing Bangarappa heavily. Raghavendra too has a huge voter base, thanks to his father’s popularity in the area. There are ten candidates in the fray, but the final battle is going to be between the Congress and the BJP.
The Janata Dal-Secular has once again decided not to field a candidate to ensure that the Congress votes are not split. Even during the Karnataka assembly elections, the JD-S had not fielded any candidate to ensure that Bangarappa won.

At the moment it seems as though it is advantage Raghavendra. He has the support of his father, Yeddyurappa, who is also the star campaigner for the party. Besides, six out of the eight assembly seats in Shimoga are controlled by the BJP.

BJP candidate and Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa

Voice of the voter in Shimoga is divided
Following the campaign trail of both the leaders gives an indication that Raghavendra is clearly ahead in the race. While Raghavendra is wooing the voter with an energetic campaign, Bangarappa is clearly riding the nostalgic wave.
Raghavendra goes around telling the voter about his father’s achievements while Bangarappa still talks about what he had done for the people when he was chief minister.

Age certainly seems to have caught up with Bangarappa. Compared to his previous campaigns this time he has addressed very few public meetings. Party workers say that knee pain has slowed him down and hence he is not going all out during his campaign.

The voice of the voter in Shimoga is divided. There are several pockets such as Beeranahalli and Soraba where the voters still consider Bangarappa to be their hero. These pockets blindly vote for him irrespective of the party he belongs to. The voters in these belts have elected him when he was in the Congress, the BJP, SP and his own party, the Karnataka Vikas Party.

According to some voters, the important thing is that Bangarappa is contesting and the party he belongs to does not make a difference to them.

Roads are good, but there’s no water
The Raghavendra camp, on the other hand, says that Bangarappa’s regime come to an end once he was defeated by Yeddyurappa.
Despite such high profile candidates in the fray, Shimoga does not seem to be free of problems. While water is the main issue in this constituency, one must admit that this constituency has a seen a sea change where its roads are concerned.

Before a ride to Shikaripur from Shimoga took a minimum of one-and-half hours by road thanks to the miserable condition of the roads. However, after Yeddyurappa took over as chief minister, a lot of emphasis is being laid on the roads in this constituency. The change that has taken place in one year is very evident.

Three dams yet no water for farms
The villagers in several pockets of this constituency say repairing the road is insufficient.
This is a constituency, which is completely dependant on agriculture. What is the point in doing up the roads and leaving the farmers high and dry, asks Reva Nayak, a resident of Shikaripura — the chief minister’s constituency.

Shimoga has at least three major dams around it but not one drop of water comes into this constituency, he says, adding that all these dams have been constructed to provide water to other districts.

He says that their vote would go to any person who will do something for the farming community.

Now, slipper thrown at Karnataka chief minister.

A man threw a slipper at Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa during a Bharatiya Janata Party convention in Chenarayapatna in Hassan district.

However the slipper fell short of the dais. The man identified as Chandru shouted, Deve Gowda Ki Jai before hurling the slipper. The police who took him into custody said that Chandru is an activist of the Janata Dal-Secular from Holenarasipur in Hassan, which is JD-S chief Deve Gowda’s home town.

Unlike other politicians who have faces shoe-throwing incidents, Yeddyurappa did not forgive his assailant and directed the police to take stern action against him..He said that slipper throwing has become a fashion and must be stopped immediately.

The campaign for elections 2009have been marred by several shoe/slipper throwing incidents. The victims include Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Leader of the Opposition L K Advani, MP Naveen Jindal and even actor Jeetendra.

‘I did not get a ticket because of my father’

Months ago, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa had said he did not believe in dragging his family into politics. Months later, it was he who made sure that his son BY Ragavendra was given a ticket from the Shimoga parliamentary constituency. Expectedly, Ragavendra’s candidacy ruffled many feathers in the party.

Vicky Nanjappa caught up with Ragavendra at Shimoga where he spoke about his chances and the controversy that surrounded his candidature.

How confident are you about winning your first election?

I am extremely confident of winning. Having interacted extensively with voters, I get the feeling that they will elect me.

It is clear that you have not been chosen on merit. Instead, you got a ticket thanks to your father, isn’t it?

I am a first-time candidate and I have a long way to go. I am eager to learn and address people’s problems. I hope that you people stop focusing on the controversy and move on to bigger issues.

Several BJP leaders have turned hostile because of your nomination. How are you coping with this, especially during the campaigning?

Nobody is hostile. My party workers have been extremely helpful and cooperative. How else do you think I managed to conduct 600 public meetings in such a short period? There are one lakh BJP workers with me now and they are doing everything under the sun to ensure my victory. We have gone to every village in the constituency and have understood the problem.

What has been your primary focus during the election campaign?

The BJP government’s success in the state and the United Progressive Alliance’s failure at the Centre. I have been constantly connecting with the youth of the constituency who I believe are the future. I am modeling myself as an icon of the youth and I keep telling them that I don’t just promise, I deliver too.

How do you see BJP’s chances in the state?

I expect at least 25 seats for the BJP.

Isn’t that too ambitious? Your party president Sadananda Gowda told us the BJP would win 20 seats this time.

Things have changed. I can sense that the voter desperately wants the BJP to come back to power in the Centre. I am sure the BJP will win 25 seats.

Does being Yeddyurappa’s son help in anyway?

Yes, it does. I am what I am because of my father. He has been a guiding force for me and he is my hero. I have a lot of respect for my father and he is the one who has been helping me build my image as a good leader.

Without his backing, you could not have managed a ticket from Shimoga.

That is very unfair. I have taken my father’s help to understand the problems in the constituency. To be very honest, I did not get a ticket because of my father. The party saw that I was capable and through a very democratic process I was selected to fight the elections. And for the last time, I am telling you that there is no controversy surrounding my candidature.

Your father played the Lingayat card in the assembly elections. What about you? Are you playing a similar card?

Let me clarify. My father did not play the caste card. The party managed to secure votes from all voters irrespective of caste. During my campaign, I, too, am not playing the caste card. The final results of the elections will prove to you what I am saying. The BJP is not a party only for Lingayats. I will bag all-caste votes and I am telling you that 60 per cent of the one lakh Muslims in Shimoga, too, will vote for me.

You are taking on S Bangarappa, who has an impressive record in Shimoga. Do you feel nervous?

Bangarappa has absolutely no chance. I am not saying this, it is the voter who is saying this. This will be his last election. My father proved to him during the Karnataka assembly elections that it is not sufficient if you contest on a nostalgic factor. I will do to Bangarappa what my father did to him during the assembly elections.

Hassan still has hopes from Deve Gowda

Vicky Nanjappa and photographer Reuben NV travel to Hassan, where a former prime minister is fighting for political relevance.
The formation of the Third Front may be giving the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party sleepless nights, but in Hassan, Karnataka, the new alliance has brought about hope and happiness.

The people of Hassan — from where Janata Dal-Secular chief H D Deve Gowda is contesting the Lok Sabha election — feel that the 1996 magic could be repeated when their local man rises to the rank of the country’s prime minister.

With 1.416 million voters in Hassan, which has eight assembly constituencies, the battle may not be as easy for Deve Gowda as one would expect. Both the BJP and Congress are trying to overpower him with caste equations.

Although political observers feel Deve Gwda will scrape through, winning won’t be easy. The JD-S chief’s style of campaigning shows that he is a worried man.
Support for Deve Gowda comes from farmers

Deve Gowda has always been a loner when it came to poll campaigns. He went about the job all by himself. This time, he has his two daughters, Anusuya and Shailaja, by his side. Plus his daughter-in-law, Bhavani.
Three reasons are cited for this. One, Deve Gowda has to concentrate on Karnataka as he needs numbers to have his way in the Third Front of which the JD-S is a constituent. Second, age is catching up with the old warhorse and clearly he lacks the energy he had in previous elections. Finally, he expects a tough fight from both the BJP and Congress.

Support for Deve Gowda in Hassan comes from the farming community who treat him as a surrogate for the Almighty. Farmers believe only Deve Gowda can solve their problems. The farming community has ensured his victory in this seat five times.


The caste equations in Hassan

He is a very well known face here and addresses most voters by their names. During his door-to-door campaign, he never starts by asking for votes. He places one hand on their shoulder and enquires about their health — whether they have had their food or if they had any problem in getting the daughters married.
The BJP and Congress have fielded Hanume Gowda and Shivarame Gowda respectively to take on the JD-S chief. Both Deve Gowda and Shivrame Gowda are Mul Gowdas, who have 350,000 votes in this constituency. Hanume Gowda, on the other hand, is from the Das Gowda faction, who number about 150,000.

Apart from the votes of the Das Gowdas, the BJP is eyeing the 270,000 Lingayat votes, the community from which its Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa hails. The rest of the voters comprise Kurubas (200,000), scheduled castes and tribes (250,000) and minorities (100,000). These votes are expected to be shared between the Congress and the JD-S.

It seems to be advantage Deve Gowda
While the parties work out these caste equations in Hassan, it seems to be advantage Deve Gowda. His party controls five out of the eight assembly seats in Hassan. Moreover, the JD-S also controls the Zilla Panchayat, Taluk Panchayats and the Gram Panchayats in Hassan.
C T Ravi, the star campaigner for the BJP’s Hanume Gowda, has been travelling across Hassan proclaiming himself to be a son-in-law of the soil. Ravi is married to a woman from Hassan. This campaign is a counter to the Deve Gowda campaign, which has always claimed that he is the mannina maga (son of the soil).

Deve has Gowda lost this seat only once, in 1999. He stepped into Parliament that year by winning the Kanakapur seat near Bangalore in a by-election.

Of unkept promises & unfinished projects

The biggest lament heard in Hassan is the lack of irrigation projects in this area, which is heavily dependent on agriculture. Residents say they were promised several lift irrigation projects, but not all have come up.
Another complaint that residents have is the incomplete Special Economic Zone project, which has been going on for several years now. Today, people are getting impatient about this project.

The people of Hassan were promised that there would be employment generation once this project was complete. However, in the past two years, scores have left Hassan and gone to other cities in search for jobs.

Timme Gowda, a resident of Salagame village in Hassan, is sad that the region’s young men have had to leave Hassan and go elsewhere to find work. He believes a village disintegrates because of such migration and the state government must ensure that each village and every town should have sufficient employment opportunities.

Voices from the Bangalore North battle.

A bulldozer at the site of the proposed tech park in Bagaluru.

 

Which village is this? This is the first question which comes to mind after having a glance at these pictures. This is Bagaluru — very much within the limits of Bengaluru district — adjacent to the forthcoming 4,000-acre hardware tech park behind the Bangalore International Airport.

Bagaluru, which is part of the Bangalore North constituency, is not free of its problems. Residents of this area had high expectations when the airport came up. They thought that roads in their village would improve and with that their lifestyles too would change. That did not happen.

We walk out of the airport gazing at Louis Vuitton posters…and just a couple of miles away…we find this village where people still sit under trees discussing their woes.

Veteran vs Veteran

As we speak with the villagers, several campaign vehicles pass by. Veteran politicians D B Chandre Gowda of the Bharatiya Janata Party and C K Jaffer Sharief of the Congress will battle it out here.
If only these candidates got off their campaign vehicles and spoke to the villagers, they would have discovered the issues which bother local voters.

Manoji Roa, who was born a decade before Independence, takes us through the entire village. He shows us empty buckets lined up in front of the dry taps. When we ask him about the roads, he asks innocently, “What roads?”

The villagers say the water problem was not this bad before the airport came up. They feel the water is being diverted elsewhere. Happily, the power situation has largely improved after the airport arrived.

 

 

The people of Bagaluru await change.

 

 

‘We were promised Rs 70 lakhs per acre, not a penny has come’

The villagers are so desperate for a better life that none of them even raised a protest when the government announced it wanted to set up a hardware tech park.
The villagers say they were convinced that such a park would improve conditions in their village. Minus any protest, they readily agreed for their land to be acquired.

Chandramouli, a resident of the area, says the villagers thought they would cooperate with the government, but feel completely let down.

“We were promised Rs 70 lakh (Rs 7 million) per acre as compensation, but till date not a single penny has come,” he says.

The villagers are furious that none of the candidates has addressed this issue.

The contrasts are overwhelming

We travel next to the Kumara Park area, which is also a part of the Bangalore North constituency. We see well dressed children accompanied by their even better dressed parents. Living in the Kumara Park area is a dream for most city residents; it is undoubtedly one of Bangalore’s most high profile areas.
We ask Kumara Park residents about the problems they face. Most of them don’t seem concerned about the election, only complaining about a juice shop in the area which causes traffic jams.

These are the contrasts one witnesses in the Bangalore North constituency which has 2,054,526 voters.

Rural voters may opt for the BJP

CK Jaffer Sharief, the Congress veteran, had planned to contest this election from his pocket borough, the Bangalore Central seat. However, he lost that ticket race to H T Sangliana, the former police commissioner who jumped the BJP ship after the July 22, 2008 vote of confidence in Parliament over the nuclear deal.
Sharief got the Bangalore North ticket instead. D B Chandre Gowda, on the other hand, crossed over to the BJP from the Congress. Sharief has cut short his campaign after his son’s sudden death.

In the rural parts of the constituency, the vote is clearly for the BJP. Voters there feel it would be better to have the same government in the state as well as at the Centre. The voters in the urban parts of this constituency are fond of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a leader, they believe, favours urban India.

The Bellary tale

Money, glamour and poverty — these three words can describe Bellary. One of the most high-profile and controversial constituencies in Karnataka, Bellary goes to polls on April 23. Bellary has been a traditional battleground between the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party. The state’s mining capital shot into the limelight when Sonia Gandhi took on Sushma Swaraj in her first parliamentary election in 1999. She won, but prefered to represent Amethi in the Lok Sabha. In the 2004 general election, BJP candidate Karunakar Reddy defeated Congress candidate K C Kondaiah This year, the battle lines have been drawn between BJP candidate Shantha and Congress candidate N Y Hanumanthappa. Shantha is the sister of state minister B Sriramulu. Bellary is now a reserved constituency for Scheduled Tribe candidates after the delimitation process. During the Karnataka assembly election, Bellary was in the news for the flashy election campaigns undertaken by various leaders. This time, the BJP was forced to withdraw its campaign stunt — of using pigeons with the party logo on them — after protests by animal rights activists.

Shantha, during her campaigning, seeks votes in the name of her brother, who she claims is the ‘true messiah of the poor’. Her brother as well as influential state minister Janardhan Reddy campaign for her. Both leaders are not only confident about her prospects, they have been talking about a record breaking win.

The Congress, on the other hand, has been highlighting ‘the failure of the BJP’. Senior leaders Siddaramaiah and M P Prakash, who have been campaigning for the Congress, say the people of Bellary will ‘teach the BJP a lesson for its misrule’.

And while the politicians are busy blaming each other, the residents of the dusty villages in Bellary face a tough choice — whether to stay in Bellary and breathe the unhealthy air or leave and lose their job in the mines.

When we enter Thoranagallu village, which is on the way to the prime mining area of Sandur, a couple of women approach us. They are concerned about losing their homes, as the government plans to demolish 2,000 houses to widen the road, to make way for mining lorries.

“We can’t afford the rent of Rs 1,000 and we have no option but to live here,” one of the women say.

Another issue that plagues locals is the perennial health problems they suffer from. A local doctor, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed that most common health problems were breathing ailments, acute pharyngitis, tonsillitis, acute upper respiratory infection, acute bronchitis and asthma. On an average, he treats 20 patients with such complaints every day.

All these factors are due to atmospheric contamination, informs Justice Santosh Hegde, the Lokayukta or ombudsman of Karnataka. ‘There is iron ore everywhere and most of it settles in the water which in turn makes the drinking water hazardous,’ he said.

The villagers point towards a dirty tank in which the children were playing.

“How can I stop these children from playing in the water? They love it. We can only pray that nothing goes wrong,” says Chandra, a mother of two.

Justice Hegde points out in his report on Bellary that the poor conditions in the area make it unfit for human beings.

A strong breeze accentuates the problems of the area, when the town turns red due to the fine iron ore particles. The problem persists all the way through the transit area from Bellary to Mangalore, Karwar and Bilikere, where the iron ore is transported in lorries.

The pathetic condition of roads, worn out by the constant movement of lorries, ensures that it takes an hour to cover the distance of 10 kms. On an average, over 1,500 lorries ply on these roads daily.

So is the poor condition of air and water an election issue? The answer is no. Not a single politician raises these issues since all of them have a stake in at least one of these mines.

The netas only bicker with each other, ignoring the plight of their constituents, who continue to live in hazardous conditions.

Meet Capt Gopinath’s chief campaigner

Captian Gopinath has generated a buzz after he announced his candidature as Independent candidate in Bangalore South constituency.

For Gopinath, the man who launched low-cost flying in India with his Air Deccan airline, electioneering has understandably been a hugely different experience.

Bhargavi [Images] Gopinath, the captain’s wife, has been a driving force during the campaign. Even their daughters chip in.

Vicky Nanjappa caught up with Bhargavi on the campaign trail.

From the corporate sector to dusty roads, how has the experience been?

It is a huge change, but interesting. The campaign so far has been great and the response overwhelming. It is a new challenge for me and I am coping well with it.

You don’t seem to be campaigning a lot alongside your husband. What is your style of campaigning?

Bhargavi Gopinath

My husband and I campaign separately mostly because this way we can cover more areas. I take care of the door-to-door campaigns. This way I get to interact with voters and understand their problems better. However, I am not alone during my campaign. My two daughters are with me all the time.

Do you find the door-to-door campaign more effective?

I do. It is very important to talk directly to voters. It is the best way to connect to the people. Moreover, we believe it is necessary to talk to them and understand their problems. That is why we have stayed away from the tamasha, which is usually followed by others.

Not everyone may know who Captain Gopinath is. How do you tackle that aspect?

We have faced this problem in some legs during the campaign. There is one side of the constituency where my husband does not need an introduction. In other parts, when we say Gopinath is the candidate, some voters express dismay. However, the moment we mention that he is the man behind Air Deccan, a smile comes on immediately.

Are you happy with your husband’s decision to contest the elections?

I have always supported my husband in all his decisions as he knows what he does.

When he expressed his intention to join politics, I completely supported him. I am very happy for him.