BENGALURU: The BJP and the Congress share a poor record when it comes to fulfilling the grand election promises they make to the citizens of Bengaluru.
With BBMP elections slated for August 22, the two main contenders are preparing to paint the same rosy pictures again. The BJP, which won the first BBMP elections in 2010 with a thumping majority, has failed on its key promises such as a dedicated power generation unit, and a law to bring all utilities under one umbrella.
The party had assigned the job of drafting a law to former chief secretary A Ravindra, who had just then joined the party. Accordingly, the Bangalore Metropolitan Region Governance Bill was prepared and placed before a Cabinet sub-committee. Things stopped there.
“Since the draft proposed more powers for the BBMP, MLAs opposed it,” said a party leader who had worked closely with Ravindra’s team.
Shobha Karandlaje, then power minister, did talk about a gas-based power project at Bidadi, but the project is stuck in litigation.
The Congress’ record is no better. It had made several promises to the city before the 2013 Assembly elections. The party had spoken about a circular railway, multi-level parking lots, slum clearance, and a mechanism within the BBMP to improve new village areas coming under its limits. It had also promised to build huge North-South, South-East flyovers. The only promise it is aggressively pursuing is restructuring of the BBMP.
The Congress has passed a Bill in the Assembly and it awaits the President’s nod. But the manner in which it has gone about the matter has been far from convincing, with political observers suggesting the party is desperate to postpone polls.