City: Bengaluru

Note: This website will soon be migrated to a new system.  If you face any issues, do mail us. You can also reach us through Twitter or Facebook! Bengaluru This Week Get our free weekly newsletter. Name Email Bengaluru This Week archives. I'm a just-so person. Have no political affiliation, do not belong to a community that has political clout or to any significant group / union that can make noise and is sought after by political parties (like some auto drivers who throw tantrums, forget what their job is and can go on a "pre-poll" strike so that they can…

It is the last day to file nominations and also the day when a bomb went off outside the BJP office in Malleshwaram. Just after filing his nomination, Jayanagar MLA B N Vijaykumar sat down with Citizen Matters to give us his take on the constituency, its problems, his achievement and what he plans to do if elected again. Jayanagar MLA B N Vijay Kumar with supporters after filing his nomination. Pic: Sriram V What were the main problems of the constituency? Note: This website will soon be migrated to a new system.  If you face any issues, do mail us.…

  N A Haris, Congress MLA from Shanthinagar, is contesting once more from his constituency. Like all other contestants, Haris, 46, too is busy trying to woo the voters by holding padyatras to various areas in his constituency. Haris was in news recently for his role in the eviction of about 1000 families from Ejipura EWS (Economically Weaker Section) quarters. Citizen Matters caught up with him during two of his evening padayatras - to Vivek Nagar and Vinayaknagar. In this exclusive interview, he talks about his plans for Shanthinagar, his views on Ejipura evictions and more. Pic: facebook.com/mlaharis Excerpts from…

Note: This website will soon be migrated to a new system.  If you face any issues, do mail us. You can also reach us through Twitter or Facebook! Bengaluru This Week Get our free weekly newsletter. Name   Email       Bengaluru This Week archives. Our politicians who are elected to office make many decisions that affect our lives -- they formulate laws and develop projects. They do this without consulting citizens, and later we citizens are forced to fight those that are unacceptable to us, on the streets and in courts. Elected representatives plan our cities without proper roads,…

As per the last census, Bangalore had a growth of over 48%. Across Indian cities, the growth has been rapid. It is the kind of growth that would have tested the best of political and managerial talent in an extremely empowered city - mayor kind of system that we see globally. Given that we do not have proper city governance system, no visionary leaders and lack of urban governance skills, we have a perfect storm developing across our cities. Do we stay with business as usual?Each of us has our own view of the problem in the city. It could…

It's hot - and I don't mean the weather. Election fever is spreading, with parties and politicians busy working out strategies that would help them retain (or get to) power.Politicians in power who drive through signals in official cars with red lights whirling on top and pilot cars ordering all traffic to make way for the VIP, have become suddenly supplicants, appearing with folded hands in roadside hoardings, telling us how keen they are to 'serve' us.Look at the party election manifestoes of last elections, and you will see that they all make near-identical promises in seeking votes - capturing…

Assembly Equation The Karnataka Assembly has 224 seats and the incumbent BJP barely holding on to a majority. The last decade has seen permutations and combinations of party tie-ups and several politicians and MLAs change parties before, during and after elections. As many as 20 bypolls were held in the last 5 years because of MLAs quitting their parties to join the ruling party. It foresees more by polls for the Parliament if any of the 4 sitting MPs who are contesting the Assembly election win. Electorate According to the Chief Election Office, Karnataka has 4.36 Crore voters. Bangalore has…

“Politics is bad; it is horrible. Politicians are scoundrels. So what should we do apart from talking? Just because the air is polluted doesn't mean you stop breathing. Hope, organisation, honest effort and action will take us to a better tomorrow.” This is what Dr. Priya Dharshini S V, who is contesting from Rajarajeshwari Nagar under JD(U) banner says in her Facebook post. A doctor-turned-lawyer, ex-IAS officer, mother of two, Dr Priya practises at Karnataka High Court, Supreme Court and International courts. Priya Dharshini, Rajajeshwari Nagar candidate. Pic: Priya4MLA, Facebook page. Meet the new breed of electoral contestants: urban, highly…

'The Sustainable City' is a year-long series of events starting 20 April, 2013. The event initiated by Indian Institute of Human Settlements (IIHS), Bangalore  in collaboration with TiE CleanTech SIG (The Indus Entrepreneurs Cleantech Special Interest Group) is an effort to build knowledge and awareness in the context of sustainable urbanisation Pic courtesy: IIHS IIHS intervenes to address the deficit of practice and policy at the administrative level of urban governance and thus the need to make sustainability a necessity at policy levels.  From being accepted as a standard, education in India is now largely debated, discussed and is undergoing…

Workers transporting election campaign material. Party members lodged in hushed discussions. Plastic chairs strewn about. Posters of B S Yeddyurappa smiling directly at you. For a party that was born barely a few months ago, the mood at the election office of the Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP) in Malleshwaram is surprisingly calm. The reasons could be many. For one, the man who leads the party is a force to reckon with. It's his very first election outside of the party that led him to become its first ever Chief Minister in south India. After more than 30 eventful years with…