Not many Bangaloreans expected anything radically different when the Congress came to power in November last year. Because the Congress had ruled the state before and they expected it to be the same as ever since nothing in politics ever changes. A few eyebrows were raised when the suave S.M. Krishna was made the chief minister, but it was largely expected.

However, what really came as a surprise was when Mr Krishna chose to retain the Bangalore City Development portfolio with himself. Pre-occupied as he will be with matters of the state, nobody expected him to be concerned about the capital and involve himself about the nitty-gritty details concerning the civic authorities.

But those who know Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna insist that he is very meticulous. Besides, he is also very shrewd and knows that if he has to gain popularity, both inside and outside the state, the capital will have to reflect the right attitude. Moreover, the city will attract the more investment (and the better it is), the better it will be for him.

Be that as it may, there is no doubt that the chief minister has taken his job very seriously. As soon as he took over, he made a series of city tours to ascertain the ground realities and has kept abreast of every development in every civic wing that he is responsible for. For Bangaloreans, the means is not the issue, the end matters. And if the city is going to look and feel better, no matter what the reason, so be it.

The journey to the chief minister's chair has not been a bed of roses for Mr Krishna. In fact he has been pipped at the post earlier as well and had to content himself with the deputy chief minister's post in the earlier Congress government under M. Veerappa Moily. In fact he was popularly referred to as the man of mixed fortunes.

Mr Krishna's educational background is impressive to say the least. A Fulbright scholar educated in George Washington and Southern Methodist universities abroad, the 68-year old chief minister entered politics in the early 60s and has gone on from strength to strength. Shuttling to and fro from the state assembly to Parliament, Mr Krishna has accumulated a lot of experience in both regional and national politics. But what's redeeming about him is that he is quite sincere and is seen as a man acceptable to all factions, at least for the moment.

Just to indicate that he is serious, especially about Bangalore, he declared right at the beginning that he wants to make it like Singapore. Ridiculed by the opposition and viewed with skepticism by citizens, the chief minister painstakingly explained that he had no intention of duplicating it, but only wanted to replicate the effort since it was the best Asian experience and faced the same problems.

In fact he has never tired of saying, "Our city has a date with the future. And a dream which is the mandate to make Bangalore the best city in Asia by 2004-2005. My vision is to make Bangalore the best city. For this we need to modernise the city's infrastructure, ensure efficient provision of public services, develop and enhance the internal capacity of BCC and others, expand the resource base of the city and create an administrative framework that is responsive, efficient and proactive."

Setting up of the Bangalore Agenda Task Force, a group of prominent peronalities to create a forum and partnership for better management and development of the city, was the first step in fulfilling that mandate. And the highly successful Bangalore Summit in January was the next. Six months down the line, results are showing and city is looking up, which goes a long way for Mr Krishna's favour.

It is not just lip sympathy, but Mr Krishna genuinely tries to keep himself informed about the goings on in the city, especially the BCC and the BDA. At a recent workshop on solid waste management, he made it a point to be present for a part of it and lauded the efforts of the BCC and the BATF in this direction.

He has also consistently demolished opposition to his endeavours by indicating his firm stand. ``I will do whatever is good for the city and for its development. And nobody can stop me. There is always resistance to change, but people should understand that we are working towards the common good of citizens. Me and my government will support the endeavours of the BCC and is fully behind it,'' he has stated.

When he's not actively involved in politics of the state or city you can see the chief minister playing a game of tennis doubles at the Bangalore Club courts. He's actively promoting the sport as well and has plans to host a world veterans tournament later this year as well as a full fledged ATP tournament later on.
His a die-hard enthusiasm and passion for the game has caught on with other Bangaloreans

To his credit, the chief minister has constantly ensured that the city is never far from his mind despite and in spite of the other pressing demands on his time. But doubts still persist whether he will be able to keep up the tempo. Those close to him insist he will, while detractors say he will be bogged down by greater worries. For the time being however, the honeymoon is still on and Bangaloreans are happy that their beloved city is looking up.