The stakes are high

However, the problems associated with rapid urbanisation in Bangalore has led to a number of social and economic problems, including poverty, hunger, homelessness, crime, and diseases.

The citizens of Bangalore keenly await the formation of a new government which will address the important issue of an independent regulatory authority for the real estate sector, property tax reforms and repeal of the capital value based system. Traffic is also a key issue in Bangalore and every citizen wants the new government to come out with a comprehensive Integrated Traffic Management Plan for the city. Now that the new airport at Devanahalli has become operational, high speed connectivity will be the prime concern for the incoming government.

The implementation of the Dr. D.M. Nanjundappa Committee8217;s recommendations for addressing the regional imbalance in growth, especially between North and South Karnataka, is a very important issue, which all political parties have promised to address on top priority, if voted to power.

There are high stakes for some political parties in the Karnataka assembly elections. Though the BJP emerged as the single largest party in 2004, the outcome of the assembly elections will decide whether or not it has gained the acceptance of the people of Karnataka. For the BJP, the results of the Karnataka elections will give an indication of the mood of voters in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP8217;s performance in Karnataka will decide if it can continue to rely on emotive themes such as Hindu nationalism or bank on real issues related to governance and economic development.

The elections will also test both the JDS and the BSP. The credibility of the JDS as a political party and especially the acceptability of Deve Gowda and his flip-flop politics will be either established or exposed. Similarly, the BSP, which is trying to project itself as a national party, needs to make convincing gains in a sizable number of constituencies and vote share to sustain their tall claims.

The fiasco played out by the JDS and the BJP recently has made people wary of these two parties in the state. They traded charges of opportunistic politics and treason, blaming each other for the fall of the government. This has helped the Congress, which, throughout the election campaign, projected positive factors and fought the elections on the plank of development, stability and inclusive growth with balanced regional development. Although price rise was an issue, the Congress was able to convince people, that this was linked to the international economic situation and inflation would be under control in next couple of months. Of course, only the election results will show whether people have accepted the explanation offered by Congress.

Though poll surveys have predicted a hung assembly, it is my view that the reality may turn out to be completely different and a surprise at that.

Veerappa Moily is a former Karnataka chief minister and a senior Congress leader