Did high command hurry fulfilment of 5 promises without enough preparation?

Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

Bengaluru: Did the Congress high command pressure the State leaders to make announcement regarding the implementation of five guarantee schemes on the day of assuming power without seeking the opinion of Karnataka leaders?

The answer seems to be ‘Yes’ because the Delhi Congress leaders go by the statement of a political strategist and insisted on the inclusion of those promises in the election manifesto. At the time of announcing these five guarantee schemes, the state leaders did not know that the Congress party would bag 135 seats of the total 224 Assembly seats in the recently-held elections.

The Congress leaders thought that the state electorate would give a fractured mandate necessitating a coalition government. In that context, the Congress could give the excuse of a hung Assembly for the delay in implementation of the five poll promises. Highly-placed sources told News Trail that senior leader Siddaramaiah was caught unaware when former AICC President Rahul Gandhi declared that all five promises be implemented on the first day of assuming power in the State.

But the State Congress leaders did not have any details regarding the number of beneficiaries, total amount required for implementation of the schemes, ways to mobilise funds and other vital information. They took things casually, presuming that the Congress would not cross the magic number of 113 seats and the new government would be a coalition government with no clear majority for any party.

The sources said after Siddaramaiah assumed the role of chief minister for the second term, he was “shocked” when he came to know that the fulfilment of all five schemes would cost the State exchequer an additional Rs 55,000 crore to Rs 60,000 crore annually. He was aware of the fact that a lot of commitments of the government, which included reserving funds for ongoing schemes and also for new development works. The Congress party came to power with the promise of development with a focus on improving the crumbling infrastructure in Bengaluru.

Siddaramaiah is said to be unhappy with the Delhi leaders for making lot of promises without understanding the ground reality. The CM held a series of meetings with officials of the Finance department who warned him of serious consequences if the government implements all five schemes in the same format. The government has a lot of commitments that need to be fulfilled without giving any excuses.

On the day of the announcement of the Assembly results, Siddaramaiah and KPCC President DK Shivakumar came to Mysuru and made a vow before goddess Chamundeshwari, the presiding deity of the erstwhile Mysuru state, that the government would implement all the schemes without fail soon after coming to power. The duo never imagined getting a landslide majority thanks to the announcement of the five schemes. Naturally, people want the government to fulfil all the five schemes without any condition.

This put the government in a tight spot as it requires not less than Rs 60,000 crore for the implementation. The CM is learnt to unhappy with the reported pressure from the high command for the implementation of the guaranteed schemes that would cost thousands of crores every year. Now, the Delhi leaders have left everything on Siddaramaiah and become mute spectators.