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R 091127Z MAY 08
FM AMCONSUL CHENNAI
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INFO RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 3113
RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
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RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0032
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0198
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHMFISS/HQ USSOCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC

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