Yesterday spent the entire Sunday morning being a couch potato watching BJP proclaim that the victory in Karnataka is a significant milestone towards its march to be the largest political party in India. I have no problems with their claim but was wondering what it means for commom man on the street.
A stable government in Karnataka was definitely the need of the hour. The state had seen Bismarckian politics for the past 4 years and that had almost brought it to the edge of collapse. Hopefully with the help of some rebels, independents etc. all those who are "others" BJP will form the government which would last the term but the expectations from this government would be sky high.
I can talk about the infratstructure in Bglore and it is apalling. Let alone the dream to make it the next Shanghai or the next Singapore I believe making it the next Lucknow or the next Surat or the next Bhopal might itself be a big achievement. Connectivity issues need to be addressed immediately - the city has an airport to reach it takes longer than the flight time between Bglore and Chennai or Bglore and Hyderabad, to travel 5 kms one needs to budget in 1 hour during the peak traffic hours, though Metro is supposed to be answer to all the woes it wouldnt be in place for the next 5-6 years, the only city probably in the world where crossroads are planned on top of flyovers - the list goes on. Water woes are going to become chronic due to the climate patterns changing and increasing population. I have been living in a locality where for the past 4 yrs everyday we buy 30-35 tankers of water. Water table is decreasing every month with all plans for renewal of water sources are on paper. Power situation though slightly better than some of the other cities in the country is still critical. Transmission lines are old and lacking maintenance, one strong rain and entire areas slip into darkness for hours on end. Water logging during monsoons, water scarcity during summers, jammed roads all the times, uprooted trees, cut trees - guess all get the picture.
So getting a stable government is not the crux of the matter, I think getting a government which works is more important. I hope BJP can give us this kind of government and not prove a skeptic correct - each and every party has made money. Lets give BJP a chance now to make some of their own. After all they have been asking for it for a long time.
