Bengaluru: Former Karnataka minister Krishna Byre Gowda, who is seeking re-election from Bengaluru’s Byatarayanapura constituency in the May 10 assembly elections as a Congress candidate for the straight fourth time, had pledged to restore the glory of Brand Bangalore, which is left bruised by the BJP Government’s misrule in the past 3-4 years.
During a hybrid interaction here with first-time voters, which included those who have migrated to this constituency in this election, the former Congress Minister said the double-engine advantage promised by BJP is “only a dabba regime (rickety regime)”, and cited the constantly worsening traffic snarls and infrastructure woes.
Under the BJP Government, he said, there has been a flight of capital from Bengaluru to neighbouring states, and the biggest job creator (referring to Bangalore’s IT boom days) is now criticised as “drowning capital” and “pothole capital” of India.
He said Congress, which in its 10 years of rule in two different spells from 1999 to 2004 and 2013 to 2018, generated jobs by giving a strong push to the growth of technology sector and has the “requisite experience” to bring the city back on the rails.
Krishna Byre Gowda said BJP leaders, including PM Narendra Modi who’s been making back-to-back trips to Karnataka in the months leading to the elections, let the state down by not visiting Bengaluru and the state when deluge brought the IT city to its knees. “The leaders who don’t visit the state when we want, are not welcome when they want to visit us to milk our votes,” he said to a thunderous applause from the audience at the meeting venue.
Describing his constituency Byatarayanapura as one of the biggest and home to both tech parks and traditional agriculture, besides having many lakes, 500 layouts and no less than 9 lakh population, the Congress leader said that his doors are always open to all sections of society “every single day” to solve any civic issue.
Addressing first-time voters in particular, he said he has helped start schools, colleges, lake rejuvenation, fully equipped sports stadiums, parks and gyms ever since he started representing the constituency from the year 2008. “When I got elected for the first time from here, Byatarayanapura was only a village brought under an expanded BBMP, and its infrastructure was at least 40 years behind that of its Bangalore city core areas. Today, it is the most developed and a model for the city.”
For perspective, he said the Rajajinagar constituency is spread over 6sqkm, while Byatarayanapura sits over a whopping 193 sqkm. He said Congress has put the people first by holding a youth fest, encouraging and felicitating women entrepreneurs and student achievers.
He said BJP is a synonym for corruption, with 40% kickbacks in government projects and 60% price rise in 2-3 years. “Courts had to start monitoring pothole-filling exercise, given the track record of the corrupt BJP government,” he said.
When a young girl asked whether he was ready to don the CM’s mantle, Krishna Byre Gowda said his first and primary duty is that of a lawmaker of Byatarayanapura, and the role of a CM is collectively decided in various fora, including by fellow party MLAs and in the people’s court.