NOT AN EASY RIDE

KARNATAKA CHIEF MINISTER BASAVARAJ BOMMAI, WHO COMPLETED ONE YEAR IN OFFICE THIS WEEK, FACES THE ONEROUS TASK OF ENSURING THE BJP'S VICTORY IN THE UPCOMING STATE ASSEMBLY ELECTION

- AJAY SUKUMARAN

Basavaraj Bommai usually speaks ex tempore at public events. The engineer in him has an eye for technical minutiae. Last week, for instance, at the Karnataka Power Corporation's anniversary celebrations in Bengaluru, he recalled, with some degree of detail, how the process of laying the foundation for the state's tallest dam across the river Kali four decades ago had been a particularly tricky job-Bommai had apparently witnessed the dam's construction as an engineering student. Then, he cut to the present with a nonchalant quip that drew a laugh from the audience: topics such as power, power grids and electricity distribution interested him because they were somewhat related to political power. "Political power too is generated...it is only generated in a few places, then it is distributed," the Karnataka chief minister observed. "And it can't be stored... political goodwill can't be stored, it has to be replenished."

Well into an election year, power management is surely Bommai's challenge too. The 62-year-old, who completed a year in office on July 28, faces the uphill task of ensuring that the BJP's supply of goodwill in Karnataka is safe from any peak demand fluctuation. There's a historical basis for this-since the mid1980s, a ruling party in Karnataka has been able to return to power only on three occasions, twice via coalitions. Even in its current avatar, the BJP had had to play the defection game to topple the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S) coalition to capture power in 2019-one year after the assembly election was held.