North K'taka goes to polls today

Even as there is a clamour to develop North Karnataka and for speedy implementation of recommendations of Dr D M Nanjundappa Committee on correcting regional imbalance, the focus is now on the urban local bodies (ULBs) in the region which will have to play catalyst in developing the tier II cities.

Urban local bodies of Dharwad, Belgaum, Bagalkot, Uttara Kannada, Gadag and Haveri districts will go to the polls on Friday and the outcome will have a bearing on the future political developments in these areas.

For example, the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation area saw a flurry of developments during the last five years, thanks to a pro-active commissioner P Manivannan. He complemented the state government's efforts to develop Hubli-Dharwad as an IT/BT hub in North Karnataka.

He enjoyed the support of the elected body in the HDMC. The elected representatives gave him a free hand to go ahead with his projects.

For parties, the ULB elections have become a question of existence in North Karnataka. The region has maximum number of legislators, MPs and the ministers in-charge of the districts from BJP and these leaders are keen to establish their hold on the ULBs.