Friday, July 27, 2012

Karnataka: Power politics and a drought hit state


It’s the third chief minister, and there is no guarantee that he will complete the term. The chair already saw many faces, at the same time another chair in the next building - Lokayukta HQ - is waiting for someone to occupy it since September, 2011. Hundreds of kilometres away from the capital – Bangalore - people are unable to sit; they are still fixing their eye on the sky looking for some traces of rain cloud. Karnataka and Andra are already facing a drought (like?) situation.

Last year in 2011, 123 taluks in 24 districts declared as drought affected. It’s only worsened this year. Just like majority of other Indian states, Karnataka's financial condition too is not strong. Court already banned the mining, which will effectively stop whatever royalty and taxes coming from there. As if the problems on the economic and water front is not enough, state already saw the exit of two chief ministers and nobody knows when she will see the exit of third one.

It will be better for the party to stop fighting and start with administration. When people supported the party by electing 120 (out of 224) MLAs they definitely expected something better. The state also has the potential to transform itself to an economic powerhouse instead of becoming a political disaster. There is not much time left - especially in this draught stricken times. Even the deeply rooted caste equations may not work in the next elections. It’s time for the political leadership to wake up and do something for the state.

Sajeev

Photo courtesy: Wikipedia (Other than Vidhan Saudha Part)

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