Mangalore ; The much awaited Urban Local Body elections are over and the results are before everyone. As expected the voter  has shown the doors to the BJP, while he has welcomed the Congress with open arms.

The Congress regained power in most of the local administrative bodies in DK prominently Mangalore City Corporation, excluding Sullia. In Udupi too it could gain power  for the first time.

The trend is certainly against the BJP. The voter is disillusioned, the past five years of BJP rule in Karnataka has  made the state suffer enough while its  image has sullied beyond repair. The government was most of the time busy settling internal differences,  dissidence and much more. The government was also rocked by corruption issues, scams, sex scandals and much more, and the voter suffered enough. Administration was badly affected due to internal bickering and the five years of rule saw three chief ministers.

The result was reflected in the ULB polls and the BJP has been shown its place by the voter.

In Mangalore, the BJP which rose to power for the first time in the history of the MCC in the 2007 ULB polls,  failed to live upto the expectations. In fact the voters had chosen the BJP in the last elections, fed up by the corruption and misrule by the Congress. They hoped for a change for the better, but the change did not come under the BJP rule. None of the four BJP mayors put up an impressive show and during the last mayoral term, the BJP handed over the Mayoral post to the Congress almost in a golden platter and helped Gulzar Banu become the mayor. If the first mayor was Ganesh Hosabettu, the rule of the second mayor Shanker Bhat was quite ok, while Praveen Kumar and Rajani Dugganna failed to make a mark. Except for the concretization of major roads, there is nothing much to boast of.

Though the BJP is harping on the road concretization issue, the absence of side drains, foot paths and bus shelters are evident and the administration has failed to take steps.

Even the MUDA rules that virtually harassed people who owned small sites and wanted to construct houses, took a severe beating. The hike in property tax, the privatization of the water bill issuing process all tested the patience of Mangaloreans.

Now that the Congress is elected, the electorate is hoping that things would change for better. The congress has already promised that there would be no hike in property tax as well as water rate for the next five year. It has also assured to take up side drain and footpath works on a priority basis. Hope it will fulfill its promise and live upto the expectations of Mangaloreans. The Congress should be on its guard and not repeat its past blunders, lest the voter would be disillusioned.