Inundated Roads, Overflowing Drains Sink Brand Bengaluru. But Will Voters Make Netas Pay the Price in Polls?

When Bengaluru faced a deluge after rains lashed the Silicon Valley of India in August last year, the MLA of Mahadevapura constituency — which was one of the worst-hit — acknowledged the unprecedented rains but clearly stated it would not have any bearing on the 2023 assembly elections. He seems to have got it right as neither floods nor potholes and traffic woes are of concern to the people of Bengaluru in this election.

Bengaluru city MLAs, many of whom have been elected more than three times, are quite confident that they will once again be elected despite people raising a hue and cry over the city’s failing infrastructure.

The city’s crumbling infrastructure, including dug-up roads, overflowing storm water drains, encroached rivers, and congested roads, continue to dog Brand Bengaluru but come elections, the issues do not seem to be the priority.

“People should open their eyes and vote for the government that gives them good roads, adequate drinking water, and safe mobility. Why do people suddenly get temporary amnesia about their suffering and failing infrastructure that affects their lives and homes?” asks Dileep Shastri who lives near the Doddanekundi area of Bengaluru.

Civic evangelist V Ravichandar explains that Bengalureans are not mature enough to realise that every vote counts and should be based on the performance of MLAs. “There is a lot of sound and fury when flooding happens but even the political system does not see a correlation between better governance and getting re-elected. It does not seem to matter,” he said.

The urban expert stressed that Bengaluru at present has no corporators and is being governed by the state and MLAs.

“If things go wrong, they have to be accountable as it happened on their watch. Normally, you would think the MLAs are meant to legislate laws and do not have executive oversight. But in reality, because of the influence of the state in city governance, if they take credit for what goes well, they should also take the blame for what goes wrong,” he told News18.

Srinivas Alvalli, another urban expert, also said people have disconnected elections from governance. He said elections are a “great tamasha” and governance happens separately. Issues like floods are short-term, he pointed out.

“Even Covid-19 has been forgotten by our country then what about floods. People don’t understand the connection between flooding and elections. The MLAs can prevent these floods by preventing constructions and encroachments. So each vote counts,” Alvalli said.

News18’s DP Satish said: “For the people of Bengaluru, issues like flooding and traffic are discussed and debated before and after elections, never during it. This shows the apathy of the voters when it comes to addressing Bengaluru’s infrastructure woes. During elections, infrastructure woes and voting are polls apart. They never meet.”

On a positive note, social media seems to play an important role this time as many first-time voters are voting rationally and not on emotions like caste, language, or religion, say Bengalureans.

“We need to address the elephant in the room. The city MLAs have their nexus and they ensure that the voters cast their vote not on issues related to development but on caste and other factors. The Bangalore MLAs have a sense of comfort that they cannot be defeated because of the city’s problems. That narrative needs to change,” says Harish Deshpande who works with an EV company in Bommanahalli.

It is interesting to note that the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), for the third time, announced a budget in the absence of a city council for the year 2023-24. The budget was pegged at Rs 11,157 crore with a bulk of the money — around 65 per cent — allotted for infrastructure projects and another 13 per cent for solid waste management.

Solid waste management has been another issue that the city was dealing with when it earned the tag of ‘garbage city’ as it began to stink due to inefficient waste management. This is apart from the traffic woes, potholed roads, and overflowing lakes and rivers that flooded low-lying areas.

But Bengaluru city MLAs argue that the city has grown in leaps and bounds and like Chennai or Mumbai, it is unplanned with small roads.

R Ashok, the state revenue minister and an MLA from Bengaluru city constituency Padmanabhnagar, said being a Bengalurean himself, he understands the issue. However, he blames the illegal encroachment on lakes for the problem and not bad governance. Despite the troubles, the world still looks to Bengaluru to invest in technology and manufacturing, he points out.

“Bengaluru is like a saucer and the unprecedented rains affected the city. We have given more than Rs 2,000 crore to clear these storm-water drains. People understand that the BJP government has been working to streamline the issues and provide better roads and mobility like metro services, air connectivity, etc. Floods and potholes are not a problem that has arisen today. It is a problem the city has been facing over the last 20 years and each year it is improving, not deteriorating,” Ashok told News18.

Karnataka’s higher education and IT/BT minister Dr CN Ashwath Narayan said there are a few groups that are ‘jealous’ of Bengaluru and spare no chance to taint the brand.

“Just because one square meter was affected in the entire 1,000 square kilometres of Bengaluru, people criticised us. Some people were jealous of Bengaluru and how the city had developed so well. Nobody can challenge Bengaluru and it will keep growing and developing to become a world-class city,” he said.

Narayan added that Bengaluru is going through challenging times due to sudden changes in weather patterns. The present Basavaraj Bommai government has come out with better and more relevant policies that will help build the city and address the concerns of the people.

“We are building a robust system that will help address the issues in a methodical, scientific manner,” Narayan told News18.

In the latest budget presented by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, he allocated a grant of Rs 9,698 crore for the IT capital of the country. This also included funds for a project to prevent flooding, building new roads, and a fresh proposal to construct a start-up park. But many called it an attempt to appease voters with an eye on elections.

There is also a sense of disconnect between what the city faces and finally what drives people to vote during assembly elections, it is observed.

“The state elections are different from a BBMP election. We will vote for a competent corporator who will get our work done when they announce the BBMP elections. Right now, we need to vote for smart MLAs who will represent the state and Bengaluru,” said Savita Rao, an IT professional who has been living in the city for the past two decades.

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