The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : ‘Anti-incumbency factor will work for Congress’

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Friday, May 09, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

‘Anti-incumbency factor will work for Congress’

Special Correspondent

Moily rules out hung Assembly

Voters will give a clear mandate to Congress: Moily
Blames the JD(S)-BJP government for fall in development

BANGALORE: Second Administrative Reforms Commission Chairman M. Veerappa Moily said on Thursday that the anti-incumbency factor against the 20-month rule of the previous Janata Dal (Secular)-Bharatiya Janata Party Government would help Congress to regain power in the Assembly elections.

Addressing presspersons here, Mr. Moily said the voters of the State have not forgotten the political “opportunism” of the JD(S)-BJP Government which had resulted in mid-term elections.

‘Political somersault’

The BJP and the Janata Dal (S) demonstrated an amazing capacity of a political somersault to stay in power at the cost of the development of the State. The H.D. Kumaraswamy Government had hurled the State into a period of instability owing to opportunistic politics, Mr. Moily alleged.

Clear mandate

Stating that voters would give a clear mandate to the Congress, he ruled out the possibility of a hung Assembly.

All the surveys carried out by various agencies had indicated mass support and steady increase in vote share of the Congress in the three-phased elections, he said.

Slow pace

Referring to the slow pace of development works in Bangalore, he said the JD(S)-BJP Government had failed to take advantage of the various provisions available under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission scheme of the Centre.

‘Poor planning’

The current infrastructure chaos in Bangalore was the result of poor planning, ineffective governance and corruption.

Not even 10 per cent of the Metro Rail work had been completed for want of land acquisition and lack of political commitment by the H.D. Kumaraswamy Government, he said.

No interest

On the upcoming international airport at Devanahalli, he said the JD(S)-BJP Government was interested in only land grabbing and granting hundreds of acres of land to the real estate mafia. It failed to execute the supporting infrastructure projects, which has led to traffic congestion in the city.

No norms

He said that the Kumaraswamy government had violated democratic norms by not holding elections to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike.

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