BANGALORE, 14 May 2004 — The leader of Karnataka state whose capital is the high-tech hub Bangalore lost power yesterday, the second technology-savvy regional chief to be routed in elections this week.
Karnataka Chief Minister S.M. Krishna, a former Fulbright scholar credited with turning Bangalore into a global IT base, resigned after a rout in state elections held parallel to parliamentary polls.
In results announced on Tuesday, neighboring Andhra Pradesh’s leader Chandrababu Naidu was also defeated despite his globally hailed efforts to turn the poverty-stricken state into a computer capital.
Krishna acknowledged his defeat was caused in part by voters far away from Bangalore, where a three-year drought has driven more than two dozen farmers to commit suicide after amassing debts.
“This is a total rejection by the people of Karnataka,” Krishna told reporters.
“Perhaps people have not been addressed in the manner or to the extent which they would have expected from my government. There could not be a single factor. I think drought was the major reason for the defeat of the party,” said Krishna, 73.
However, Krishna celebrated the shock national victory of his Congress Party over Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s Hindu nationalists.
“All secular forces in the country should join together to checkmate the advance of fascist forces,” Krishna said referring to Vajpayee’s coalition.
The BJP was set to take power in Karnataka, bucking the national trend.
Naidu in Andhra Pradesh headed the regional Telugu Desam Party which was allied with the BJP. Congress formed the new government after Naidu’s resignation.
