Bangalore: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) last month completed a year in office in Karnataka—the first southern Indian state where it formed a government on its own. The party also turned in its best performance in the Lok Sabha polls from Karnataka when it won 19 of the state’s 28 seats in the 15th general election.
‘Disciplined soldier’: Yeddyurappa says the focus right now is to strive for the welfare of the people of Karnataka. He also dreams of transforming Bangalore into a city with world-class infrastructure. Hemant Mishra / Mint
In the past year, incidents such as police firing on farmers demanding fertilizer and attacks on churches and pubs in the state may have grabbed
national attention, but chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa
, 66, says his government has executed several development projects, too.Yeddyurappa, who is facing criticism from senior party leaders and legislators in Karnataka over his style of functioning, was known for his temper when he was in the opposition. As chief minister, he appeared much mellowed as he spoke in an interview about his government’s performance, rebellion in the party ranks and the crisis plaguing the BJP at the Centre after its defeat in the general election. Edited excerpts:
What have been the key achievements of your government?
We have done very good work in several areas like developing agriculture, infrastructure, human resources and providing social justice to the weak and needy. (Around) 1.2 crore families have benefited under various pro-people programmes like Sandhya Suraksha, Argoya Kavacha and Bhagyalakshmi. Thirteen lakh farmers have received loans worth Rs3,576 crore at the rate of 3%. For the development of Bangalore, we have spent Rs800 crore already and more is being done. I am happy with the overall progress by my administration though I am aware we need to do more.
(Poor senior citizens are given a pension under Sandhya Suraksha, free emergency medical care is provided in rural areas under Arogya Kavacha and under Bhagyalakshmi, girls born to poor families are given bonds that would yield Rs1 lakh when they are 18 for their education.)
The BJP won 19 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Is Karnataka the new fortress of the party, even more than Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh?
The state has opened the gates for the party to enter the south. We improved our vote share by 7% and compared to the May (2008 assembly election), when we won 110 seats, we had leads in 142 assembly constituencies. We are hopeful of improving our performance in the coming years. Our next goal is winning by-elections to the five assembly constituencies and the BBMP (Bangalore civic body) elections, which are due.
Bangalore has been severely affected by a lack of proper infrastructure. What is being done?