A NIGHT ON KARNATAKA'S CAMPAIGN TRAIL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 CHENNAI 000170

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KDEM IN
SUBJECT: A NIGHT ON KARNATAKA'S CAMPAIGN TRAIL

REF: A) Chennai 168, B) Chennai 167, C) Chennai 119, D) 07 Chennai
52


1. (U) Summary: Elections for the South India state of Karnataka's
legislative assembly begin on May 10 (refs A and B),and new
interpretations of the restrictions on what candidates may -- and
may not -- do have changed how campaigns are conducted. No longer
can candidates spend unaccounted-for campaign money on alcohol and
other gifts for potential supporters, at least not openly. Some
candidates may be breaking the rules, but others are simply
complaining and accepting a new way of doing business. We followed
one candidate as he campaigned in Bangalore, knocking on doors,
making speeches, and shaking hands. End Summary.

Retail politics, as it once was
--------------


2. (U) We spent the rainy evening of April 30 following one
candidate for Karnataka's legislative assembly as he hit the
campaign trail in the Bangalore neighborhood of Shivajinagar. The
candidate, R. Roshan Baig, the Congress Party candidate for the
Shivajinagar constituency running for his fifth term, told us that
the redistricting process ("delimitation" in the Indian political
vernacular, ref C) had added this particular neighborhood to his
constituency, so it was important for him to meet its residents in
the flesh. Baig explained that his constituency had some 166,000
residents, 55,000 of whom are Muslim and 10,000 Christian.


3. (SBU) Baig, a Muslim, told us that his main competitor for the
seat was the BJP's candidate, Nirmal Surana. Baig described Surana
as having links to the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
(RSS). He also said that Surana played a key role in fomenting the
violence Bangalore saw in January 2007, when groups of Hindus and
Muslims clashed during demonstrations protesting the execution of
Saddam Hussein, resulting in dozens of injuries and the death of a
teenager (ref D).

Pressing the flesh, recycling the garlands
--------------


4. (U) Shivajinagar is a heavily Muslim warren of alleyways and Baig
-- sweating profusely in an uncomfortable-looking, solid-white suit
-- tirelessly traipsed through all of them. A gaggle of a hundred
or so supporters, almost all of them young men, followed closely
behind. Occasionally, Baig would send a group of his supporters
ahead and instruct them to start a cheer. This invariably attracted
attention, drawing the neighborhood's residents to their windows or
doorways, where Baig would greet them with an "Asalaam Alaikum,"
introduce himself, and ask for their vote. (In a later discussion
with a Bangalore businessman, we learned that politicians generally
pay these cheering "supporters" INR 200 per day -- about USD 5. The
businessman complained that the election campaign was causing a
shortage of unskilled day laborers, who usually make about INR 80,
because they were all opting to march for politicians instead of
performing their usual work.)


5. (SBU) Every now and again, Baig would duck into a house or an
apartment to meet families and quaff a cup of tea or milk. At many
of the doorways to these dwellings, Baig would receive numerous
garlands, which he would quickly remove and hand to one of his many
attendants, a polite gesture intended to convey a sense of humility.
(We noticed that these attendants would then "recycle" these
garlands by taking them to the next house for the next round of
garlanding.) In front of one house, Baig received a Hindu blessing
from a couple of women bearing "aarthi plates," essentially pie pans
filled with melted wax supporting a lit wick that the women then
poured out at his feet. As we walked away, we noticed member of
Baig's entourage slip the women a pair of 100-rupee notes.


6. (U) At one stop, an elderly Muslim man beseeched Baig to do
something about the lack of an effective drainage system outside his
shop. He pointed out a foot-high wall that he had built in the
shop's doorway to help keep floodwaters out. Baig told the man that
he would look into it, but pointed out that the lack of a proper
sewer system in the neighborhood was a major engineering problem
that could not be fixed immediately.

The new rules of the campaign game
--------------


CHENNAI 00000170 002 OF 003



7. (U) Baig told us that this person-to-person campaigning was
particularly important this election, because election officials
were enforcing strictly rules that generally prevent the posters and
bunting that usually adorn the state during campaigns. (Indeed, one
of the striking aspects about our visit to southern Karnataka April
30 to May 2 was the lack of posters or any other indication that it
was the height of the campaign season.) He said that election
commission auditors were assigned to candidates' campaigns as
"shadow accountants," scrutinizing every expenditure -- no matter
how small -- and disallowing anything that did not comply with the
rules. Baig said that he attracted crowds of 500 to 600 supporters
that followed him on some of his initial campaigning, but that the
election commission instructed him that crowds of this size were too
large and disruptive, forcing him to limit the number of people who
could accompany him on his campaign excursions. As he strolled
through one alley, Baig pointed out a man with a video camera.
"That's an election monitor," he said, "and he's making sure that I
don't have too many people following me around."


8. (U) Baig also said that approval of the election officials must
be obtained before speaking to a group, and several times we saw him
ask one of his assistants if they had obtained the appropriate
permission. At one stop, someone put a microphone in his hand and
he prepared to speak, but then asked one of his assistants quietly
if this was a stop authorized by the election commission. When the
assistant indicated he was unsure, Baig handed the microphone back
without speaking, waved to those present, shook a few hands, and
continued on.

It helps to be a polyglot
--------------


9. (U) At one apparently authorized stop, Baig and some of his
supporters addressed in Urdu a crowd of some 200 people. (When we
asked later what his message was, he explained that he emphasized
the importance of stability in government -- a swipe at the state's
previous ruling coalition -- and spoke against communalism.) While
Baig was speaking, one of his attendants handed him a small piece of
paper with the message (in English): "kindly speak a few words of
Tamil." Baig, who was addressing the crowd without notes, then
began speaking in Tamil, apparently addressing in particular a group
of women near the front of the crowd whose faces lit up as soon as
he did so. He also spoke a bit in Kannada, the dominant language in
most of Karnataka, but told us later that relatively few people in
this neighborhood spoke the state's lingua franca as their primary
language.

Exceptions to every rule
--------------


10. (U) Bangalore's press is full of complaints by candidates who
say that the new rules are stifling their ability to campaign. Top
candidates from all three of the state's main parties -- the
Congress Party, BJP, and JDS -- have had election commission
officers impound their vehicles (including a helicopter in one case)
and other equipment. Some press reports suggest that some
candidates are assigning supporters to surveil election commission
personnel so that the candidates will not be caught by a surprise
inspection. Other reports have stated that candidates are finding
ways to bend the rules, for example, by giving coupons redeemable
for items ranging from televisions to booze, rather than by giving
away the items themselves. All commentators seem to agree, though,
that this sort of blatant vote-buying is less prevalent than in
previous campaigns, and that election officials are genuinely
cracking down on campaign misbehavior. There certainly seems to be
no shortage of election commission personnel available to enforce
the rules: on our three-day trip to Karnataka, we observed more
vehicles carrying "Election Commission" placards than vehicles
sporting campaign posters.


11. (SBU) The Karnataka-based National General Secretary of the
Bhujan Samaj Party, P.G.R. Sindhia, told us that the strict
enforcement of these campaign restrictions is playing well in the
middle and upper classes, who like to see their cities free of the
usual campaign paraphernalia. The poor, however, are far less
enthusiastic with the new strictures, as campaigns usually provide
them with a wide variety of freebies like pens, watches, and other
trinkets which are being denied this time around.

Comment

CHENNAI 00000170 003 OF 003


--------------


12. (U) Baig may be a multi-term incumbent, but he was still working
hard to keep his seat in the legislative assembly. This kind of
personal campaigning particularly important in an election, like
this one, where the parties are not underlining their differences on
any particular major issue. The BJP is stressing its administrative
competence while Congress is emphasizing the fact that it can bring
stability to the state's government, but, as the editor of a major
daily told us, "they're two sides of the same coin." Baig's
campaign tactics are physically demanding, and he told us that he
has been at it day and night for weeks. We'll find out soon if his
efforts will pay off.


13. (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy New Delhi.

HOPPER