Water Wars

Will the all familiar rocks at Mekedatu pave the way for a Congress resurgence in the Vokkaliga community dominated districts of Old Mysuru when the 2023 Assembly polls are due? Or will the much publicised padayatra of the party from Mekedatu to Bengaluru demanding implementation of the balancing reservoir project, finally end up in a Covid mess? News Trail examines the politics surrounding the contentious project.

By Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

As Karnataka furiously debates whether the yatra is really needed at this juncture and if the Covid figures being projected by the BJP government-which the Congress has contested- are really true, News Trail examines various facets of a project which, according to the Congress, will go a long way in slaking the thirst of water starved Bengaluru.

There is still over a year left for the crucial 2023 Assembly polls but political parties in the state are already in poll mode with the objective of seizing power. Land, water and language are the three issues which bind people and it’s the perennial water shortage which Karnataka and the Old Mysuru region in particular faces which the opposition Congress party is hoping, will help it build a powerful poll plank against the ruling BJP. They have a strong reason to do so as the BJP led Central government has been maintaining a studious silence on the Mekedatu project with the row reaching the Supreme Court.

The Cauvery dispute has been a irritant in Karnataka-Tamil Nadu ties over many decades and more so when the monsoons fail and the dams run dry. People in both states have witnessed how the Cauvery issue had created a sense of distrust between them. The BJP, Congress and the Janata Dal(Secular) in Karnataka, and the AIADMK and DMK in TN, all bitter enemies, have rushed to join hands when the Cauvery row worsens. In the past, these parties have come to power by whipping up the sentiments of people in the Cauvery basin.

And history may repeat itself with the Congress embarking on a ten-day 165-km long padayatra from Mekedatu in Kanakapura taluk of Ramanagar district to Bengaluru from January 9. The padayatra is the brainchild of KPCC President D.K.Shivakumar who has made no secret of his desire to emerge as the undisputed Vokkaliga leader in Karnataka. The Congress was once a strong political force in south Karnataka districts including Mysuru, Mandya, Chamarajanagar, Ramanagara, Hassan and Tumakuru but lost heavily in the 2018 Assembly election due to lack of unity in the party.

The Janata Dal (Secular) pulled off a dramatic victory in these districts much to the dismay of the Congress. Realising that it needs the Vokkaliga vote to make a comeback in South Karnataka, the ‘Kanakapura bande’ (boulder of Kanakapura) DK Shivakumar has chosen this emotional issue to consolidate its base in the Vokkaliga dominated districts.

The BJP does not have much of a base in the region except in some urban and Lingayat dominated constituencies in Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts. After 6o years, the lotus for the first time bloomed in KR Pet constituency in Mandya district in the 2019 bypolls mainly due to the clout of BJP candidate, C.Narayanagowda. But the tussle for dominance has always been between the Congress and the Janata Parivar.

The JD(S) , sensing a threat to its vote base in the region, is planning it own yatra to counter the Congress padayatra and will launch Janata ‘Jaladhare’ which will traverse through all 224 Assembly constituencies and provide a commitment to complete all languishing irrigation projects if it comes to power in the 2023 Assembly elections. According to former CM and State JD(S) leader, H.D. Kumaraswamy, the yatra will tour all districts in 15 days starting from January 26.

‘Jaladhare’ will be formally launched on January 23 by JD(S) patriarch and former PM, H.D. Deve Gowda from Sri Chamundeshwari temple in Ramanagar. Fifteen teams have been constituted for this and the teams will visit every village in the district.

Given the theme, it looks the JD(S)’ Jaladhare is aimed at attacking the Congress party for its failure to complete a number of major irrigation projects which have been pending for many decades. At the same it wants to convey to the masses that a few projects were completed in Karnataka after the United Front Government headed by Deve Gowda in the 1990s released crores of rupees under the Accelerated Irrigation Scheme.

Kumaraswamy is planning to attack the Congress Party for ‘sleeping’ over the Mekedatu project all these years when the project was actually conceived way back in 1968. According to him, had Congress leaders tried, they could have completed the project when the party was in power. After five decades, the Congress is harping on the issue and accusing the BJP government of not doing anything in the last