Karnataka is known throughout India — and the world — for many reasons. The most notable reason is the state’s capital is Bengaluru, the acknowledged Information Technology capital of India. ‘Bangalored’ became a dreaded word in the US for flight of business and capital. The inflow of business and capital made Bengaluru a coveted workplace for young professionals, especially in IT. Karnataka’s rank in per capita state domestic product (in current prices) is an impressive 4 among all states.All these and more should have placed Karnataka among the top five states of the country. Unfortunately, it is not. Look at some Education and Health indicators during 2019-21 (source: The Hindu, dated April 25, 2023):That is not the end of Karnataka’s woes. After the 15th general election to the Karnataka Assembly in 2018, there have been four short-lived governments whose life-spans were 6 days, 1 year 64 days, 2 years 2 days, and the current one since July 28, 2021 (whose term will end after the next election on May 10, 2023). The villain of this sordid nataka (drama) of instability is, without dispute, the BJP.The consequences of unstable and short-lived governments were predictable.In the people’s perception, the current government is the most corrupt government in the state’s history and is deservedly called the ‘40 per cent sarkara (government)’.That phrase was taken from the Karnataka Contractors’ Association’s official letter accusing the government of demanding and accepting 40 per cent commission or bribe for every decision of the government. Moreover, there is a long list of broken promises of the BJP spanning agriculture, education, healthcare, employment, infrastructure and the economy. Besides, the social and political discourse in the last four years has centered around useless controversies like hijab, halal, love jihad, the anti-conversion Bill and even Tipu Sultan who ruled between 1782 and 1799!One would have expected that the debate during the ongoing election campaign would revolve around the real issues that concern the people and which are thrown up in every survey or opinion poll — unemployment, inflation, infrastructure and corruption. 2,58,000 government posts are vacant. Since 2020, 1,258 companies have shut down. 13 PSUs are non-functional. There are multiple allegations of scams.Sadly, the debate has been surreal. When a reference was made to an allegedly corrupt chief minister, it was portrayed as a charge that the entire Lingayat community to which the chief minister belongs was corrupt. The Union Home Minister warned the voters that if the Congress was elected to power “there will be riots in Karnataka”. Leading lights of the BJP (which has not fielded any Muslim candidate in the 224 constituencies) openly declared “we do not want the votes of Muslims”. A statement in the Congress’ manifesto to the effect that decisive action would be taken under law against hate-mongering by organizations like Bajrang Dal and Popular Front of India, including a ban, was distorted to mean that worshippers of Lord Hanuman (Bajrang Balis) would be thrown into jail: the prime minister magically transformed Bajrang Dal (a right-wing organization) into Bajrang Balis (devotees of Lord Hanuman)!More shocking was the appeal of the Union Home Minister to the people of Karnataka to “hand over the state to Mr Modi”. Notwithstanding a federal system, will the prime minister rule every state, municipality and panchayat? The BJP’s manifesto promised to push the idea of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Both issues have divided and polarized many states in northern and north-eastern India.The Congress party, in its manifesto, gave “five guarantees” that would cost, additionally, Rs 30,000 to 35,000 crore a year. Not to be outdone, the BJP’s manifesto promised three subsidized gas cylinders a year to coincide with three Hindu festivals; one-half litre of milk daily to every BPL family; and a subsidized canteen scheme serving a meal (pictured) consisting of a bowl of rice, dal, sambar, curd and six cups of vegetables! Meanwhile, the prime minister warned against the ‘freebie’ culture!The top two leaders of the ruling party — PM and HM — made no attempt to defend the record of the state government. They were silent on the real issues that concerned the people; the silence was certainly not golden. Their speeches became shriller by the day and the campaign was entirely about the ‘abuses’ suffered by the prime minister; about Lord Shiva; about Lord Hanuman; about Bajrang Balis. The scene looked like a battleground from the pages of history going back to the era of the Mahabharata where an entrenched ruling class was challenged by the former rulers. Will history repeat itself?
Karnataka is known throughout India — and the world — for many reasons. The most notable reason is the state’s capital is Bengaluru, the acknowledged Information Technology capital of India. ‘Bangalored’ became a dreaded word in the US for flight of business and capital. The inflow of business and capital made Bengaluru a coveted workplace for young professionals, especially in IT. Karnataka’s rank in per capita state domestic product (in current prices) is an impressive 4 among all states.All these and more should have placed Karnataka among the top five states of the country. Unfortunately, it is not. Look at some Education and Health indicators during 2019-21 (source: The Hindu, dated April 25, 2023):That is not the end of Karnataka’s woes. After the 15th general election to the Karnataka Assembly in 2018, there have been four short-lived governments whose life-spans were 6 days, 1 year 64 days, 2 years 2 days, and the current one since July 28, 2021 (whose term will end after the next election on May 10, 2023). The villain of this sordid nataka (drama) of instability is, without dispute, the BJP.The consequences of unstable and short-lived governments were predictable.In the people’s perception, the current government is the most corrupt government in the state’s history and is deservedly called the ‘40 per cent sarkara (government)’.That phrase was taken from the Karnataka Contractors’ Association’s official letter accusing the government of demanding and accepting 40 per cent commission or bribe for every decision of the government. Moreover, there is a long list of broken promises of the BJP spanning agriculture, education, healthcare, employment, infrastructure and the economy. Besides, the social and political discourse in the last four years has centered around useless controversies like hijab, halal, love jihad, the anti-conversion Bill and even Tipu Sultan who ruled between 1782 and 1799!One would have expected that the debate during the ongoing election campaign would revolve around the real issues that concern the people and which are thrown up in every survey or opinion poll — unemployment, inflation, infrastructure and corruption. 2,58,000 government posts are vacant. Since 2020, 1,258 companies have shut down. 13 PSUs are non-functional. There are multiple allegations of scams.Sadly, the debate has been surreal. When a reference was made to an allegedly corrupt chief minister, it was portrayed as a charge that the entire Lingayat community to which the chief minister belongs was corrupt. The Union Home Minister warned the voters that if the Congress was elected to power “there will be riots in Karnataka”. Leading lights of the BJP (which has not fielded any Muslim candidate in the 224 constituencies) openly declared “we do not want the votes of Muslims”. A statement in the Congress’ manifesto to the effect that decisive action would be taken under law against hate-mongering by organizations like Bajrang Dal and Popular Front of India, including a ban, was distorted to mean that worshippers of Lord Hanuman (Bajrang Balis) would be thrown into jail: the prime minister magically transformed Bajrang Dal (a right-wing organization) into Bajrang Balis (devotees of Lord Hanuman)!More shocking was the appeal of the Union Home Minister to the people of Karnataka to “hand over the state to Mr Modi”. Notwithstanding a federal system, will the prime minister rule every state, municipality and panchayat? The BJP’s manifesto promised to push the idea of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Both issues have divided and polarized many states in northern and north-eastern India.The Congress party, in its manifesto, gave “five guarantees” that would cost, additionally, Rs 30,000 to 35,000 crore a year. Not to be outdone, the BJP’s manifesto promised three subsidized gas cylinders a year to coincide with three Hindu festivals; one-half litre of milk daily to every BPL family; and a subsidized canteen scheme serving a meal (pictured) consisting of a bowl of rice, dal, sambar, curd and six cups of vegetables! Meanwhile, the prime minister warned against the ‘freebie’ culture!The top two leaders of the ruling party — PM and HM — made no attempt to defend the record of the state government. They were silent on the real issues that concerned the people; the silence was certainly not golden. Their speeches became shriller by the day and the campaign was entirely about the ‘abuses’ suffered by the prime minister; about Lord Shiva; about Lord Hanuman; about Bajrang Balis. The scene looked like a battleground from the pages of history going back to the era of the Mahabharata where an entrenched ruling class was challenged by the former rulers. Will history repeat itself?
It is both ironic and hilarious that it is the Congress Party’s manifesto that has brought Hindutva to the fore in the Karnataka election campaign. We now have the Prime Minister himself taking full advantage by encouraging cries of ‘Jai Bajrangbali’ at his election rallies. Rama has taken a temporary backseat and his loyal soldier Hanuman has taken his place. In the only southern state the BJP has ever won, temples since last week began recitations of the Hanuman Chalisa, and a senior Congress leader has been forced to publicly declare that if his ‘secular’ party wins Karnataka this time, he will build Hanuman temples in every district.All of this has happened because some idiotic advisor in Rahul Gandhi’s inner circle decided to insert a paragraph in the party’s manifesto that puts the Bajrang Dal in the same bracket as the Popular Front of India (PFI). Clearly whoever did this is unable to distinguish between thugs and terrorists. The Bajrang Dal is made up of thuggish goons who spend their time spreading hatred against Islam and Christianity and obsess about assaulting girls who celebrate Valentine’s Day or go dancing in short skirts.This is not to deny that the Bajrang Dal is capable of murder as well as mayhem. We saw this in the brutality with which Muslims were massacred in the Naroda Patiya district of Ahmedabad in the 2002 riots. One of the leaders of the murderous mob was called Babu Bajrangi and he along with the killers he led have never hesitated to boast about the pleasure they got in killing Muslim women and children. Since Narendra Modi became prime minister, this bunch of despicable lowlifes has spent much time seeking out Muslims to lynch on suspicion of killing cows. Like all religious fanatics, they are ugly, narrow-minded brutes. But they are not jihadis with clear links to the worldwide jihad.The Popular Front of India (PFI) is made up of exactly such jihadi terrorists whose main purpose has been to introduce in India the kind of Islam that the Taliban has used to ruin Afghanistan. The PFI until it got banned organized military parades of its cadres. They never deny that for them Islam is more important than India. After that incident in Kerala in 2010, when they hacked a Christian professor’s hand off for allegedly blaspheming the Prophet of Islam, their activities have been more insidious but, in every sense, dangerous and divisive.In Karnataka, it was the PFI that organized the hijab protest in schools and colleges. Exactly when the brave women of Iran risked imprisonment and torture to defy the Ayatollahs by publicly removing and burning hijabs, young Muslim girls in Karnataka were demanding the right to go to classes wearing hijab. It was an absurd and ludicrous protest but there is more to hijabs than modesty. Experts who have studied the worldwide jihad have found that the first signs of radicalism are when Muslim communities suddenly decide to force women to start wearing Arab clothes. In India, the PFI has led the movement to radicalize the very gentle Islam that was once practised here. It was a religion associated with refinement, elegance, romantic poetry, and romantic films. This was the Islam I grew up with in northern India and I have seen it change before my eyes.There are those, mostly leftists and liberals, who like comparing Hindutva with radical Islam but these are people blinded by liberalism and a defunct ideology. Hindutva has done real harm to the great Sanatan Dharma, and it has been responsible for many acts of violence against Muslims and Dalits, but it has so far not become an international terrorist movement. It has spread hatred but not come anywhere near close to creating a Hindu version of the barbaric Islamic State.The world is a better place with that wretched country dead and gone but the return of Taliban rule in Afghanistan indicates that the founding ideas that the Islamic State espoused have found a new country. The worst sufferers have been Afghan women who have lost the right to education and the right to work. Nothing like that has happened in India or will ever happen because fanaticism of the kind that bred the Bajrang Dal has no religious sanction.The Congress Party has in the past made the mistake of equating Hindutva with jihadism. BJP leaders never fail to remind us that a senior Congress leader tried to blame the 26/11 attack on Mumbai on the RSS, or that Rahul Gandhi himself told an American ambassador that in his considered opinion Hindu terrorism was more dangerous than Islamic terrorism. Since then, Rahul and his sister have done their best to wear their Hinduism on their sleeves by trotting off to temples at election time and making it a point to post pictures of themselves at prayer on social media.This does the Congress Party more harm than good. And the reason is that with the BJP ranting and raving about gods and religion what we need most now is a political party that proudly flaunts its secular credentials. This is best done by reminding Indians that there was a time when election campaigns were not conducted like religious festivals. It is with deep nostalgia that I remember elections past when political leaders did not ask for votes in the name of gods and goddesses.
It is both ironic and hilarious that it is the Congress Party’s manifesto that has brought Hindutva to the fore in the Karnataka election campaign. We now have the Prime Minister himself taking full advantage by encouraging cries of ‘Jai Bajrangbali’ at his election rallies. Rama has taken a temporary backseat and his loyal soldier Hanuman has taken his place. In the only southern state the BJP has ever won, temples since last week began recitations of the Hanuman Chalisa, and a senior Congress leader has been forced to publicly declare that if his ‘secular’ party wins Karnataka this time, he will build Hanuman temples in every district.All of this has happened because some idiotic advisor in Rahul Gandhi’s inner circle decided to insert a paragraph in the party’s manifesto that puts the Bajrang Dal in the same bracket as the Popular Front of India (PFI). Clearly whoever did this is unable to distinguish between thugs and terrorists. The Bajrang Dal is made up of thuggish goons who spend their time spreading hatred against Islam and Christianity and obsess about assaulting girls who celebrate Valentine’s Day or go dancing in short skirts.This is not to deny that the Bajrang Dal is capable of murder as well as mayhem. We saw this in the brutality with which Muslims were massacred in the Naroda Patiya district of Ahmedabad in the 2002 riots. One of the leaders of the murderous mob was called Babu Bajrangi and he along with the killers he led have never hesitated to boast about the pleasure they got in killing Muslim women and children. Since Narendra Modi became prime minister, this bunch of despicable lowlifes has spent much time seeking out Muslims to lynch on suspicion of killing cows. Like all religious fanatics, they are ugly, narrow-minded brutes. But they are not jihadis with clear links to the worldwide jihad.The Popular Front of India (PFI) is made up of exactly such jihadi terrorists whose main purpose has been to introduce in India the kind of Islam that the Taliban has used to ruin Afghanistan. The PFI until it got banned organized military parades of its cadres. They never deny that for them Islam is more important than India. After that incident in Kerala in 2010, when they hacked a Christian professor’s hand off for allegedly blaspheming the Prophet of Islam, their activities have been more insidious but, in every sense, dangerous and divisive.In Karnataka, it was the PFI that organized the hijab protest in schools and colleges. Exactly when the brave women of Iran risked imprisonment and torture to defy the Ayatollahs by publicly removing and burning hijabs, young Muslim girls in Karnataka were demanding the right to go to classes wearing hijab. It was an absurd and ludicrous protest but there is more to hijabs than modesty. Experts who have studied the worldwide jihad have found that the first signs of radicalism are when Muslim communities suddenly decide to force women to start wearing Arab clothes. In India, the PFI has led the movement to radicalize the very gentle Islam that was once practised here. It was a religion associated with refinement, elegance, romantic poetry, and romantic films. This was the Islam I grew up with in northern India and I have seen it change before my eyes.There are those, mostly leftists and liberals, who like comparing Hindutva with radical Islam but these are people blinded by liberalism and a defunct ideology. Hindutva has done real harm to the great Sanatan Dharma, and it has been responsible for many acts of violence against Muslims and Dalits, but it has so far not become an international terrorist movement. It has spread hatred but not come anywhere near close to creating a Hindu version of the barbaric Islamic State.The world is a better place with that wretched country dead and gone but the return of Taliban rule in Afghanistan indicates that the founding ideas that the Islamic State espoused have found a new country. The worst sufferers have been Afghan women who have lost the right to education and the right to work. Nothing like that has happened in India or will ever happen because fanaticism of the kind that bred the Bajrang Dal has no religious sanction.The Congress Party has in the past made the mistake of equating Hindutva with jihadism. BJP leaders never fail to remind us that a senior Congress leader tried to blame the 26/11 attack on Mumbai on the RSS, or that Rahul Gandhi himself told an American ambassador that in his considered opinion Hindu terrorism was more dangerous than Islamic terrorism. Since then, Rahul and his sister have done their best to wear their Hinduism on their sleeves by trotting off to temples at election time and making it a point to post pictures of themselves at prayer on social media.This does the Congress Party more harm than good. And the reason is that with the BJP ranting and raving about gods and religion what we need most now is a political party that proudly flaunts its secular credentials. This is best done by reminding Indians that there was a time when election campaigns were not conducted like religious festivals. It is with deep nostalgia that I remember elections past when political leaders did not ask for votes in the name of gods and goddesses.
The current competitive electoral discourse of parties in Karnataka reveals a certain lack of engagement with what are arguably critical issues in the state’s political economy. Undoubtedly, Karnataka is a fast-growing state, a leader in IT, ITeS and exports, in cutting-edge sectors such as biotechnology, and is an epicentre of tech-driven start-ups.Despite this impressive post-1990s growth profile, poverty in Karnataka (at 13.2 per cent in 2021), continues to be highest among the southern states (4.89 per cent in Tamil Nadu, 0.71 per cent in Kerala and 12.3 per cent in Andhra Pradesh). Similarly, estimates from 2021 show that Karnataka does not feature in the high HDI list of eight states and in fact, the state’s overall HDI ranking amongst all states is 17th.To take a single example, Karnataka’s infant mortality rate (IMR) in 2022 was 20 per 1,000 live births, compared to six in Kerala, and 13 in Tamil Nadu. The multidimensional poverty index, which was released by the Niti Aayog in 2021 highlighted that in Karnataka 34 per cent remained nutrition deprived (to Kerala’s 15 per cent, Tamil Nadu’s 24 per cent, and Andhra Pradesh’s 26 per cent).The continuing north-south divide in the state and the specific pattern of urban development that is taking place provide keys to the contradictions of high growth and high poverty/low HDI. Despite long-standing public concern, poverty continues to exceed 35 per cent in the historically poor northern districts of Chitradurga, Bellary, Koppal, Raichur, Gulbarga, Bagalkot and Bidar. Predominantly rural and lacking irrigation and infrastructural facilities, the northern districts have remained outside of the radar of governments.Karnataka’s rate of urbanisation, at 38 per cent, has been higher than the national average of 31 per cent ( 2011 census). However, more than 65 per cent of the urban population is concentrated in the three major transport corridors: Bengaluru-Belgaum, Mysuru-Kolar and Mangaluru-Karwar. The urban population of Bengaluru district accounted for 37 per cent of the state’s urban population in the last census (2011). In terms of district-wise urbanisation, Bengaluru district at 88 per cent is way ahead even of relatively urbanised districts, Dharwad at 55 per cent, Dakshina Kannada and Mysuru at 38 per cent and 36 per cent respectively. The window of urban opportunities has thus been confined primarily to Bengaluru.Expectedly, despite the state’s IT-led urban glitter, agriculture remains the largest employer. In 2019-20, agriculture’s share in GSVA was 12 per cent, but employment was as high as 46 per cent; the share of industry in GSVA and employment was 21 per cent and 19 per cent, while in services it was 66 per cent and 33 per cent respectively. Agriculture provides subsistence livelihoods, particularly in the context of repeated agrarian crises in drought-prone northern Karnataka. This explains the influx of migrants into Bengaluru city.The total proportion of intra-state migrants in Bengaluru increased from 60.68 per cent in 2001 to 65.64 per cent in 2011; those moving specifically for employment, mainly agricultural labourers or small farmers, remained around 25 per cent over this 10-year period. The insecurities of urban work and income, mainly in construction and low-level services, compel many to retain a dual rural-urban work and home life. Covid-19 only intensified these vulnerabilities and highlighted the inherent weaknesses of this model of urbanisation that is in place.On the other hand, industrial jobs have increasingly disappeared, caused by the shift to capital-intensive industrialisation brought on by globalisation, international competition in technology and pricing. A declining public sector and small-scale industries sector, and closed textile mills have ceased to be potential destinations for unskilled or semi-skilled job seekers. While the diminishing importance of industry relative to services is an all-India trend, a few of the economically advanced states have managed to retain a higher share of industry in GSVA (Maharashtra at 28.4 and Tamil Nadu at 33 per cent), while at the same time developing their service sectors. Although successive governments in Karnataka have voiced concerns about industry’s low share in GSVA (21 per cent), substantive policies, with a view to raising industrial employment, have not been taken in this regard.A growing — but small — professional and upwardly mobile middle and upper class employed by IT and related sectors represents Karnataka’s national and global profile. As a spill-over effect, the creation of service-based employment for urban working classes has been much hyped. However, much of the expansion of employment has occurred in the low-value-added bottom rungs of the services sector. Thus we see an emerging class of service providers in transportation, deliveries, security, hospitality, retail and housekeeping. Although service providers may receive a monthly salaried wage, and in some cases, limited social security, the reality of these jobs is that even a minimum wage may not be paid, there is no security of tenure, and hours of work may be erratic and unregulated.Karnataka’s unemployment rate of 2.7 per cent is lower than the national average of 4.2 per cent. However, the condition of low-skilled workers, even those working in the so-called organised corporate sector, or as contract workers in government service, demonstrates that it is possible to be employed but poor. Whether it is women workers in the ready-made apparels export industry, or as Anganwadi teachers and helpers, or contract pourakarmikas, their long and arduous battles for an increase in salaries and regularisation of services — led by left-leaning trade unions and civil society organisations — have made possible only limited gains.The Congress regimes elected in 1999 and 2013, the BJP’s intermittent rule since 2008, seem to share a common faith in a market and technology-led, predominantly urban growth model, unchallenged by the Janata Dal’s brief two-year stints in power (2006, 2018). Work and wage-related issues and regional disparities have remained peripheral in these regimes. The pre-election mandates and politics of parties now possibly need to be re-examined in the context of these critical blind spots of political representation.The writer is visiting professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru
Sharad Pawar said he was "shocked" when he learned that Ajit Pawar was "taking oath".Mumbai: Senior Maharashtra politician Sharad Pawar has revealed what went down on the day his nephew Ajit Pawar suddenly took oath along with the BJP's Devendra Fadnavis in 2019, when he was trying to stitch up a coalition with Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena and the Congress. In an updated autobiography released today, Sharad Pawar also talks about what he called the BJP's attempts to "eliminate" the Sena, its former ally.Sharad Pawar, leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), writes that he was "shocked" when he learned that his nephew was "taking oath" at the Raj Bhavan."I was shocked when I got a call on November 23, 2019, around 6.30 am that Ajit and a few NCP MLAs were at Raj Bhavan and Ajit was taking oath with Fadnavis," Mr Pawar says in the second part of his memoir 'Lok Majhe Sangti'."When I made calls to a few MLAs who were at Raj Bhavan, I got to know that only 10 MLAs have reached there and one of them told me that it is happening because I support this. But this was a plan for the central BJP to fail the plan of MVA (Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi). I called Uddhav Thackeray immediately and told him that whatever Ajit has done is wrong and NCP and I don't support that. My name was used to take NCP MLAs to Raj Bhavan. I asked him to join me in the press conference at 11 am," Mr Pawar writes.After the abortive attempt at taking power, Ajit Pawar subsequently returned to the NCP fold, unable to persuade enough MLAs to defect with him.Mr Pawar's reveal comes at a time when there is raging speculation about Ajit Pawar switching sides again in order to become Chief Minister. Ajit Pawar has denied it, declaring that he will work for the NCP "till I'm alive".In more startling revelations, Pawar Senior has alleged that the BJP had plotted to eliminate then ally Shiv Sena in the 2019 Maharashtra election as it was convinced that was necessary for its own growth in the state. The BJP put up rebels in several seats against Sena candidates, he claims."The BJP was out to eliminate its 30-year-old ally, the Shiv Sena, during the 2019 Assembly election, as the BJP was convinced that it could not gain prominence in Maharashtra unless Shiv Sena's existence was downplayed in the state," Mr Pawar writes.The BJP and the Sena fought the 2019 election together but a power tussle after their victory ended their alliance of nearly three decades. Uddhav Thackeray, who had refused to play second fiddle to the BJP, teamed up with the ideologically opposite Congress and NCP and became Chief Minister. Mr Thackeray lost power last year following a coup by his aide Eknath Shinde, who split the Sena and partnered with the BJP to form a new government in Maharashtra."The simmering anger in the Shiv Sena against the BJP post the 2019 assembly polls, the expose on what led the Shiv Sena to split from the BJP and form the Maha Vikas Aghadi amid rumours of political turmoil, sent ripples in political circles," Mr Pawar writes in his book."The BJP rubbed salt on the Sena's wounds by merging Narayan Rane's Swabhiman Party with it. Rane is seen as a traitor by the Shiv Sena," says the former Union Minister.PromotedListen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.com"The BJP fielded and supported rebel candidates in nearly 50 constituencies against the Shiv Sena. It was an attempt to damage the Sena by decreasing their numbers to have an undisputed claim on power."The rift between the Sena and the BJP kept widening and "it was a positive signal for us", says the veteran leader.
There is political speculation about Ajit Pawar leaving the NCP. (File Photo)Pune: Nationalist Congress Party or NCP leader Ajit Pawar on Thursday said he would "pay attention" to his uncle, party chief Sharad Pawar, the same way Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray paid to his (Bal Thackeray).Ajit Pawar's retort came in response to Uddhav Thackeray's 'advice' to him in an interview, conducted by Amruta Fadnavis, wife of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and NCP MP Amol Kolhe.Uddhav Thackeray said that Ajit Pawar should pay his uncle the same kind of attention he pays outside.Asked by reporters in Mumbai about the remark, Ajit Pawar said, "The way Raj Thackeray paid attention to his own uncle (Bal Thackeray), I will also pay attention to my uncle (Sharad Pawar)."PromotedListen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.comNotably, the MNS chief parted ways with his uncle, Shiv Sena founder late Bal Thackeray, in 2006 to start his own outfit. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NCP leaders will visit the site and talk to the locals, Mr Pawar added.Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said the Maharashtra government should hold a dialogue with local villagers who are opposing a refinery project in the coastal Ratnagiri district.If the issue was not resolved even after that, an alternative site should be found, he said.Mr Pawar spoke to reporters in Mumbai after state industries minister Uday Samant met him to discuss the issue.Residents of Barsu village in Ratnagiri district's Rajapur tehsil, more than 400 km from Mumbai, are up in arms against the project and the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress, the NCP's allies in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition, are supporting them.Mr Pawar said his party did not oppose development projects in Konkan, but finding out the opinion of the locals was a must."The government needs to find out why the locals are angry... having a dialogue with them is the only solution. If the matter is not resolved through a dialogue, an alternative site should be found,'' the former Union minister said.On the state government's contention that Uddhav Thackeray, when he was chief minister, had suggested Barsu as an alternative instead of Nanar, the original site, Pawar said he was not aware of that.''Industries minister Uday Samant who met me assured that a dialogue will take place tomorrow. Yesterday only soil testing was being done at the site,'' he further said.NCP leaders will visit the site and talk to the locals, Mr Pawar added.Mr Samant, who is the guardian minister of Ratnagiri district, told reporters that the women protestors detained at the project site have been released."The government will speak to the villagers," he added.Mr Pawar, meanwhile, told reporters that he would be visiting Punjab on Thursday for Shiromani Akali Dal leader Parkash Singh Badal's last rites.To another question, he said he was not aware of any proposal by Uddhav Thackeray that an NCP leader should become the chief minister if the MVA wins the next Assembly elections."If Sanjay Raut is saying this, he is a journalist.....the media knows more than we do. I am not aware,'' the NCP supremo said.PromotedListen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.comAbout the posters describing his nephew Ajit Pawar as a future CM coming up in some places, Mr Pawar said Ajit Pawar himself had told his supporters not to do such things.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Until the Congress President called the Prime Minister a poisonous snake last week, the campaign for Karnataka was on such predictable lines as to become a big fat bore. The BJP offered voters its usual mixture of aggressive Hindutva and that dream of a ‘new India’ that Narendra Modi assures us will soon make India an economic superpower. And, from the Congress Party’s star campaigners, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, came the usual charges of corruption against Modi, the usual promise of freebies and the usual reminders of ‘sacrifices’ made by long gone ancestors.As I listened to Rahul make reckless promises of free travel and pocket money for Karnataka’s women and Priyanka bang on about her ‘Dadi’, I understood why every time these siblings make a speech Modi gets a few more votes. He is a clever enough politician to know that when an election campaign begins, the best strategy is to pick on your opponents’ weaknesses. So, the gist of nearly every speech he has made is that dynastic democracy ‘parivaarvaad’ is directly linked to corruption because when politicians bring their families into politics it is with personal profit in mind and not public service. Rahul, alas, continues to concentrate on Modi’s strengths. In election after election, he has tried to paint Modi as corrupt and greedy. These are charges that do not stick because whatever Modi’s other flaws, and there are many, nobody seriously believes that he is personally corrupt.Why has nobody advised Congress leaders to focus instead on the criminals that fill the ranks of the BJP? How can Modi promise a ‘new India’ when the worst people from that old India continue to thrive? The wrestlers’ protest in Jantar Mantar remained unheard in the highest echelons of the ruling party for so long because the man they charge with sexual exploitation is a ‘baahubali’ from Uttar Pradesh and this makes him more than just an MP.Ever since that superhit Telugu film called ‘Baahubali’, there is an aura of heroism attached to this word when the ugly truth is that in political terms it means a gangster. Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who heads the Wrestling Federation of India, was not the only gangster in the news last week.In Bihar, the chief minister who was once called Mr. Good Governance (Sushasan Babu) shamelessly tweaked a law that forbade remission to those who murdered public officials, just to release the murderer of a district magistrate. So powerful is this thug that when he was in jail his constituency was saved for him by handing it to his wife. And Anand Mohan Singh’s son adorns the Bihar legislature’s treasury benches.What makes gangsters so powerful in Indian politics? Simple. They use guns and terror to force people to vote for them. Nitish Kumar should hang his head in shame for releasing a man who incited a mob to kill a high official by tearing him to pieces in public. This murderer certainly did not deserve remission but if you can shorten the sentences of Bilkis Bano’s rapists, who also smashed her baby girl to death, then how can the BJP dare object to what just happened in Bihar?Modi’s inability to change India’s political culture for the better is one of his biggest failures but this never becomes an election issue because there is not a political leader who can throw the first stone. But there are other failures that can and should be raised. Of these possibly the two biggest are that during his long tenure, when the BJP has ruled most major states, there has been no improvement in government schools. And a statistic that showed up on social media last week says that the only country that has fewer doctors per thousand people than India is Mali. What is the use of boasting about having organized the largest COVID vaccination programme in the world if we cannot give people basic healthcare?Every state election this year is going to be seen as a rehearsal for the general election that will happen at about this time next year. And as a reckless optimist, I keep hoping that it is real issues like schools and hospitals that will come up. But from the campaign in Karnataka, we can be sure we will be forced to choose in 2024 between those who offer us temples and belligerent religiosity and those who offer us the glory of dead leaders and the stench of dead ideas. Does it really matter who wins Karnataka? Probably not.What does matter is who wins the general election and those who predict that Narendra Modi will become prime minister again are almost certainly right. He may not have succeeded yet in creating that ‘new India’ he bangs on about but what he has certainly achieved is to sell ordinary people the dream of a prosperous, developed India. It might remain an impossible dream, but a dream is better than offering voters tales of heroism, sacrifice, and glory from a past that was not that heroic or glorious. When voters decide who to vote for, they are more interested in the future than the past and this is something that the Congress Party appears not to have discovered yet. By the time its ruling family decides to change course it could be too late, but it would help if the Congress President minded his language.
Until the Congress President called the Prime Minister a poisonous snake last week, the campaign for Karnataka was on such predictable lines as to become a big fat bore. The BJP offered voters its usual mixture of aggressive Hindutva and that dream of a ‘new India’ that Narendra Modi assures us will soon make India an economic superpower. And, from the Congress Party’s star campaigners, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, came the usual charges of corruption against Modi, the usual promise of freebies and the usual reminders of ‘sacrifices’ made by long gone ancestors.As I listened to Rahul make reckless promises of free travel and pocket money for Karnataka’s women and Priyanka bang on about her ‘Dadi’, I understood why every time these siblings make a speech Modi gets a few more votes. He is a clever enough politician to know that when an election campaign begins, the best strategy is to pick on your opponents’ weaknesses. So, the gist of nearly every speech he has made is that dynastic democracy ‘parivaarvaad’ is directly linked to corruption because when politicians bring their families into politics it is with personal profit in mind and not public service. Rahul, alas, continues to concentrate on Modi’s strengths. In election after election, he has tried to paint Modi as corrupt and greedy. These are charges that do not stick because whatever Modi’s other flaws, and there are many, nobody seriously believes that he is personally corrupt.Why has nobody advised Congress leaders to focus instead on the criminals that fill the ranks of the BJP? How can Modi promise a ‘new India’ when the worst people from that old India continue to thrive? The wrestlers’ protest in Jantar Mantar remained unheard in the highest echelons of the ruling party for so long because the man they charge with sexual exploitation is a ‘baahubali’ from Uttar Pradesh and this makes him more than just an MP.Ever since that superhit Telugu film called ‘Baahubali’, there is an aura of heroism attached to this word when the ugly truth is that in political terms it means a gangster. Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who heads the Wrestling Federation of India, was not the only gangster in the news last week.In Bihar, the chief minister who was once called Mr. Good Governance (Sushasan Babu) shamelessly tweaked a law that forbade remission to those who murdered public officials, just to release the murderer of a district magistrate. So powerful is this thug that when he was in jail his constituency was saved for him by handing it to his wife. And Anand Mohan Singh’s son adorns the Bihar legislature’s treasury benches.What makes gangsters so powerful in Indian politics? Simple. They use guns and terror to force people to vote for them. Nitish Kumar should hang his head in shame for releasing a man who incited a mob to kill a high official by tearing him to pieces in public. This murderer certainly did not deserve remission but if you can shorten the sentences of Bilkis Bano’s rapists, who also smashed her baby girl to death, then how can the BJP dare object to what just happened in Bihar?Modi’s inability to change India’s political culture for the better is one of his biggest failures but this never becomes an election issue because there is not a political leader who can throw the first stone. But there are other failures that can and should be raised. Of these possibly the two biggest are that during his long tenure, when the BJP has ruled most major states, there has been no improvement in government schools. And a statistic that showed up on social media last week says that the only country that has fewer doctors per thousand people than India is Mali. What is the use of boasting about having organized the largest COVID vaccination programme in the world if we cannot give people basic healthcare?Every state election this year is going to be seen as a rehearsal for the general election that will happen at about this time next year. And as a reckless optimist, I keep hoping that it is real issues like schools and hospitals that will come up. But from the campaign in Karnataka, we can be sure we will be forced to choose in 2024 between those who offer us temples and belligerent religiosity and those who offer us the glory of dead leaders and the stench of dead ideas. Does it really matter who wins Karnataka? Probably not.What does matter is who wins the general election and those who predict that Narendra Modi will become prime minister again are almost certainly right. He may not have succeeded yet in creating that ‘new India’ he bangs on about but what he has certainly achieved is to sell ordinary people the dream of a prosperous, developed India. It might remain an impossible dream, but a dream is better than offering voters tales of heroism, sacrifice, and glory from a past that was not that heroic or glorious. When voters decide who to vote for, they are more interested in the future than the past and this is something that the Congress Party appears not to have discovered yet. By the time its ruling family decides to change course it could be too late, but it would help if the Congress President minded his language.
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) working president Satish Jarkiholi is a three-time legislator from Yemkanmardi, a constituency in Belagavi district reserved for the Scheduled Tribe (ST) community. In an interview, he tells The Indian Express that the BJP government’s new reservation policy would not cause a major shift in the SC-ST vote to the ruling party. The “insult” the BJP has meted out to Lingayat leaders will benefit the Congress as some of these politicians have joined the Opposition party, Jarkiholi says, but adds, “It is not possible that the votes will swing completely in our favour.”Excerpts:The Congress had a higher vote share than the BJP in 2018, but it won fewer seats.Jarkiholi: Without a doubt, we will secure more votes than we did last time. The number of seats will also increase as is being indicated by various surveys and the party cadre on the ground. People have decided to give the Congress another opportunity. We will definitely secure a simple majority.Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai claims the new reservation policy will help the BJP, with SC/ST communities now supporting it. You are an ST leader. How do you see it?Jarkiholi: Irrespective of the benefits they perceive, communities which have backed one party for years will not shift their loyalties in a go. For 70 years, these communities have benefited from the Congress. Similarly, those who think BJP policies have helped them will not return to the Congress immediately.People may say there has been some benefit, but it was we who gave reservation in the first place. These communities have benefited from it since Independence. Therefore, there would not be a major swing in the votes of these communities (due to the reservation policy). Swing, if any, will be marginal.There is a lot of discussion on wooing Lingayats or having a Lingayat CM. Does this focus on one community affect other communities?Jarkiholi: Nothing like that. The Lingayat issue is being discussed because the BJP has thrown out many Lingayat leaders without giving them a ticket. There is a lot of talk about how the BJP insulted those leaders and wants to finish them.It is not certain how much the Congress will benefit, until the elections are over. But, due to the induction of senior Lingayat leaders, there will be a small shift in votes in our favour. But, it is not possible that the votes will completely move to us.The BJP had projected (Cabinet) minister B Sriramulu as the deputy CM candidate in the last election, but now he is largely sidelined. The party has now roped in actor Kichha Sudeep, who belongs to an ST community.Jarkiholi: This is the BJP’s strategy — those who take the lead in one election are sidelined in the next one. Once a leader is in the BJP, they do not care about them. They try to attract other leaders. Once the vote bank of a particular community is secured (with the help of a leader), then the person is ignored.There are a lot of CM aspirants in the Congress, including Opposition leader Siddaramaiah and KPCC president D K Shivakumar. Congress leader M B Patil has said he is also an aspirant. Are you an aspirant too?Jarkiholi: No, I do not have any claim to the post at all. Our only objective is to ensure that the Congress forms the government. None of us are in the CM race. Only Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar are.What are the top issues in this election?Jarkiholi: Inflation, lack of development and rampant corruption have been prominent under BJP rule. These factors will definitely help us.The Congress has made several guarantees to voters. Have they resonated with voters?Jarkiholi: We have got very good feedback. Various sections of society, especially the poor, are attracted to our assurances. They feel that it will help them lead a better life. They have come to a decision (to vote for us).What is your view on the prospects of the JD(S)?Jarkiholi: The JD(S) has its presence largely in the old Mysore region. We have to wait and see. All surveys have said they will win 25 to 30 seats or around the number of seats they won in 2018 (39).
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) working president Satish Jarkiholi is a three-time legislator from Yemkanmardi, a constituency in Belagavi district reserved for the Scheduled Tribe (ST) community. In an interview, he tells The Indian Express that the BJP government’s new reservation policy would not cause a major shift in the SC-ST vote to the ruling party. The “insult” the BJP has meted out to Lingayat leaders will benefit the Congress as some of these politicians have joined the Opposition party, Jarkiholi says, but adds, “It is not possible that the votes will swing completely in our favour.”Excerpts:The Congress had a higher vote share than the BJP in 2018, but it won fewer seats.Jarkiholi: Without a doubt, we will secure more votes than we did last time. The number of seats will also increase as is being indicated by various surveys and the party cadre on the ground. People have decided to give the Congress another opportunity. We will definitely secure a simple majority.Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai claims the new reservation policy will help the BJP, with SC/ST communities now supporting it. You are an ST leader. How do you see it?Jarkiholi: Irrespective of the benefits they perceive, communities which have backed one party for years will not shift their loyalties in a go. For 70 years, these communities have benefited from the Congress. Similarly, those who think BJP policies have helped them will not return to the Congress immediately.People may say there has been some benefit, but it was we who gave reservation in the first place. These communities have benefited from it since Independence. Therefore, there would not be a major swing in the votes of these communities (due to the reservation policy). Swing, if any, will be marginal.There is a lot of discussion on wooing Lingayats or having a Lingayat CM. Does this focus on one community affect other communities?Jarkiholi: Nothing like that. The Lingayat issue is being discussed because the BJP has thrown out many Lingayat leaders without giving them a ticket. There is a lot of talk about how the BJP insulted those leaders and wants to finish them.It is not certain how much the Congress will benefit, until the elections are over. But, due to the induction of senior Lingayat leaders, there will be a small shift in votes in our favour. But, it is not possible that the votes will completely move to us.The BJP had projected (Cabinet) minister B Sriramulu as the deputy CM candidate in the last election, but now he is largely sidelined. The party has now roped in actor Kichha Sudeep, who belongs to an ST community.Jarkiholi: This is the BJP’s strategy — those who take the lead in one election are sidelined in the next one. Once a leader is in the BJP, they do not care about them. They try to attract other leaders. Once the vote bank of a particular community is secured (with the help of a leader), then the person is ignored.There are a lot of CM aspirants in the Congress, including Opposition leader Siddaramaiah and KPCC president D K Shivakumar. Congress leader M B Patil has said he is also an aspirant. Are you an aspirant too?Jarkiholi: No, I do not have any claim to the post at all. Our only objective is to ensure that the Congress forms the government. None of us are in the CM race. Only Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar are.What are the top issues in this election?Jarkiholi: Inflation, lack of development and rampant corruption have been prominent under BJP rule. These factors will definitely help us.The Congress has made several guarantees to voters. Have they resonated with voters?Jarkiholi: We have got very good feedback. Various sections of society, especially the poor, are attracted to our assurances. They feel that it will help them lead a better life. They have come to a decision (to vote for us).What is your view on the prospects of the JD(S)?Jarkiholi: The JD(S) has its presence largely in the old Mysore region. We have to wait and see. All surveys have said they will win 25 to 30 seats or around the number of seats they won in 2018 (39).
