NEW DELHI
: With a promise to allocate Rs 2 lakh crore to complete every pending irrigation project in the state, Congress in Karnataka is placing its bets on settling the state’s water woes in five years, if voted to power.
Interestingly, this promise comes on the back of a slew of similar assurances by the ruling BJP to implement irrigating and drinking water projects in the poll-bound state. With three months to go for the assembly polls, the competing parties are focusing in particular on north Karnataka, where the Kalasa-Banduri Nala drinking water project, as well as the Upper Krishna III Stage in the Krishna basin are being seen as two key projects.
With the Prajadhavni Yatra, Congress’ 100-day long political campaign targeting all districts and assembly segments, the party said it is highlighting the party’s track record of delivering on what it promised to do, while underlining the BJP’s failure in this area.
“In the last government under Siddaramaiah, we promised Rs 50,000 crore for irrigations projects and spent over Rs 58,000 crore. This time, what we have in mind is to spend Rs 40,000 crore per year for five years. With a budget of Rs 2 lakh crore, we will complete all pending projects in Karnataka — Krishna, Upper Krishna and Upper Bhadra, among others. There will be no balance irrigation work left in Karnataka after five years if we are voted to power. And it is doable,” Congress’s campaign committee chairman and former irrigation minister of Karnataka, M B Patil, told TOI.
Poll promises apart, the Congress also appears to be leveraging the yatra to send a message of unity between its top leadership in the state — Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar — while projecting Patil as Congress’ Lingayat counter to Yeddyurappa. The balancing act between the caste combinations and the promise of good governance make party managers hopeful of wresting over 130 seats in the Karnataka assembly, enough to give Congress the charge of forming a majority government in Karnataka.
Though the leadership question may still continue to haunt the grand old party, sources said the Congress is unlikely to settle on a chief ministerial face ahead of the Karnataka polls, likely in April-May this year.