A major bone of contention between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu has been sharing the waters of the Cauvery and the more recent dispute over the Hogenekkal water project. The dispute is awaiting the inauguration of a new government in the state to erupt once again!

How many people have heard of the dispute relating to the Hogenekkal water project? Across the state, less than half the respondents had heard of the project. Among those who had heard of the project, only two-thirds responded correctly to what the dispute was actually about. Expectedly, there was a demonstration of greater awareness about the dispute in Bangalore city and in the Southern part of the Old Mysore region as compared to those living in Mumbai-Karnataka, Hyderabad-Karnataka and Central Karnataka regions. The more educated the respondents the more likely that they know about the dispute. This explains why the awareness about the dispute was as high in Coastal Karnataka as in Bangalore. The Tamil speaking population in Karnataka appears to be more aware of the issue than others. Over two-thirds of the Tamil speaking respondents mentioned that they had heard of the dispute.

Respondents were also asked which of the three main parties in the state (Congress, Janata Dal (S) and BJP) was best suited to protect the interests of the state in the Cauvery dispute. Among the respondents who took a stand on the issue, the most favoured party to protect the state’s interests was the Congress (over 40 per cent). A little less than one-third favoured the BJP and one-fourth support the Janata Dal (S).

In the Bangalore region and Southern Karnataka (the main region through which the river flows), the response was marginally different. In Bangalore, a majority felt that the Congress was best suited to deal with the issue.

In Southern Karnataka a more or less equal number felt that the Congress and the Janata Dal (S) were best suited to protect the state’s interests with very few supporting the BJP. Urban voters were clearly more categorical in their response with the percentage of voters undecided on the issue being much higher in rural areas. The voter appears to make a clear distinction between supporting a party to form the government and evaluating their capacity to resolve this vexed inter-state water dispute.