Firoz.T.Totanawala The Bangalore Metro Reporter THE EMOTIONAL POLITICS CM’S BOGUS CLAIM OF SUPPORT OF SIX CRORE PEOPLE

FIROZ.T.TOTANAWALA

THE BANGALORE METRO REPORTER 

 THE EMOTIONAL POLITICS 

 CM’S BOGUS CLAIM OF SUPPORT OF SIX CRORE PEOPLE

 After being elected as the Chief Minister of Karnataka, Mr. Yedurappa repeatedly makes a public statement that six crore people of Karnataka has given them the mandate to rule the state for five years. From time to time, the BJP Government came under storms many a times for various reasons and whenever the opposition lambasted the Government, the BJP officials adopted the emotional manipulation approach and repeatedly emphasized that they have the support of six crore Kannadigas. 

 It is definitely acceptable that they have formed the Government on peoples mandate but is it really rational for the Chief Minister to repeatedly sat that they enjoy the support of all six crore Kannadigas? 

 WHERE ARE THEY? 

On the face of it the Karnataka state does not have six crore people. As per the census of 2001, the population of Karnataka was five crores and is expected to rise to six crore by the end of 2011. However, the CM from the year 2008 is publicly declaring false statistics about the population of state. Furthermore, let us study the below given details to evaluate the statement of the CM as to whether or not they enjoy the support of six crore Kannadigas. 

 CHECK THE STATISTICS

 Let us trace back to the 2008 Assembly elections of Karnataka, in which the BJP victoriously bloomed out. Firstly, the adult and eligible to exercise franchise population of Karnataka during the year 2008 was 50%. Which means even if we accept Mr. Yedurappas figure of six crore then the adult population would come to 3 crore. Further, the voting percentage during the 2008 elections was 50%, which means that only 1.5 crore people came out to vote. 

However, since the CM has inflated the population figures, the actual figures of voting differ here. As per the figures officially released after the polling, 1.2 crore people had exercised their right during 2008. Next and the most important calculation is that out of 1.2 crore votes, BJP got vote share of about 40%, Congress a little over 39% and JD(S) got the vote share of 18%. Literally, it means that about 48 lakhs people have voted for the BJP and the rest of entire Karnataka is against them as they did not vote for them. 

 WHY DID YOU TRADE MLAs

 When we study the outcome of the election, we remember that the BJP had secured 110 seats, just two seats more then the Congress and JD(S) combined. It in fact did not even receive the simple majority, but, came to power by purchasing 6 independent candidates, five of whom were made Cabinet Ministers and one a Chairman of a big Board and also given a Cabinet rank. In fact 40% of the Ministers in the Chief Ministers cabinet were defectors after 2008. This makes it amply clear that Mr. Yedurappa became the Chief Minister through Operation Kamala and through the support of six crore Kannadigas. 

 THE UNSUPPORTIVE REDDYs 

If the entire state supported Mr. Yedurappa then why was there a massive revolt by his own party men lead by Reddy brothers in October 2008? The entire nation watched in horror what can be termed as a drama of democracy when the Reddy brothers hijacked 40 MLAs and stay put them in star resorts to ensure the end of Mr. Yedurappa. It was a 15 days drama which clearly indicated the vulnerability of Mr. Yedurappa’s Government. Eventually the CM had to sacrifice his woman friend Shobha Krandlaje and another loyal officer Mr. Baligar to establish peace with Reddy brothers and save his throne. Why didn’t the CM tell this to the Reddy brothers that he will not compromise as he enjoyed the support of six crore Kannadigas? 

 The BJP Government coming to power in Karnataka is a big gamble. It involved a lot of muscle and money power and never it was the support of six crore Kannadigas. While the Chief Minister blatantly goes on endorsing the support of entire state to him, he is also revealing wrong information about the actual population of the state. But is there anyone who can question the Chief Minister?...