ANY WAY : PROVIDE GOOD GOVERNANCE

0

Tweet

The much awaited Karnataka Assembly election result has provided a great relief to all. It is heartening to see that the majority of voters have preferred a stable Government as against the pollsters / political pundits prediction of a hung Assembly. In my opinion poll study in April (Karnataka Blogs published in your esteemed blog), I had said that the polling may not cross 68% and predicted comparatively more popular votes to Congress concluding that "Both the Congress and BJP will have a close fight and the party which greases the election strategy wheel with good backward and forward linkages with voters and the central leadership respectively, will emerge as the topper on the day". It has been proved that, any opinion poll, that is made with good 'reality check' in the field can clearly predict the outcome.

Evidentally, BJP with a vote share of 33.9% could get 110 seats whereas the Congress with a vote share of 34.6% got only 80 seats. The BJP could nearly reach the halfway mark of 113 seats, required for a single majority because of the intensive canvassing by BJP Central leaders, projecting Mr.Yeduyurappa as the Commander-in-Chief. All the central and state leaders of BJP rallied around him and executed a perfect election strategy which demonstrated that the BJP is a cohesive team without any leadership tussles at all in the state. They planned things both at the micro and macro level perfectly. On the other hand, the loss of many Congress state level leaders at the poll clearly indicates confusion since no one was named as the CM candidate resulting in too many aspiring candidates. This together with the less intensive canvassing by Ms. Sonia Gandhi and Mr. Rahul Gandhi wrecked the chances for Congress. The party never displayed any micro level plan.

Unfortunately, 36% has not exercised its franchise. This would mean that out of the total voters in the State, 22% active voters have elected a Government ! This is a great shame for the largest democracy of the world ! The majority of citizens, at least 85% should come forward to exercise their franchise. Only that is the true democracy ! Who is to be blamed ? Is it the voters, the election commission, the Government, or the way in which things were organized by political parties that is responsible for the poor percentage. There is a grain of truth in the fact that all kinds of restrictions on canvassing by the candidates resulted in parties / candidates / not reaching the large number of voters, creating a kind of voter sympathy among the voters. Therefore it is time the election commissions reviews its stringent rule on candidates canvassing and paves some ways for them to reach more voters, which will draw large number of voters to exercise their franchise !

The BJP has a tremendous responsibility on its shoulders now. It has only a thin margin. To start with, it has to extend an olive branch to the opposition and must carry them in providing a good governance to the state. At the time of my opinion poll, voters had identified among others lack of good roads, infrastructure and transport facilities, non-availability of good drinking irrigation water / drainage / sanitation facilities, current powercut in villages, price rise of essential commodities, Government programmes not reaching proper persons, corruption at all levels, no house, no land, no work, poverty, no BPL card as the real issues affecting their lives. It is time for the administration to take practical, sensible measures to overcome these issues. Of late, too much concentration have gone to urban areas, as they are being considered "IT Hubs" of the state if not the country. This is the appropriate time as this hub is slowly spreading to other major towns simultaneously paving way for a real rural development. This then, is the proper time for the BJP to function wisely and bring about positive changes.