City: Bengaluru

BANGALORE SOUTH» Report on debate between Bangalore South candidates, organised by Smart Vote and News9» Comparison chart of candidates at myneta.info Ananth Kumar - BJPFour terms as an MP. Served as a Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Tourism and Culture, Youth Affairs and Urban Development. Age: 50 years; Assets: Rs. 122.06 Lakhs; Criminal Record: None since 2004 * Citizen Matters' interview of Ananth Kumar * Click here for detailed profile. Capt Gopinath - IndependentWith an MBA and degrees from the NDA Captain has working life that includes 8 yrs service in the Indian Army, 17 years in Farming & Sericulture,…

It is a busy morning as I join INC candidate for Bangalore South, Krishna Byregowda on his way to Koramangala village, in his beige colour Innova. After participating in a television debate in the morning, he starts his campaigning for the day.This 36-year-old two- time MLA and currently President of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress is banking on his popularity amongst the youth. He feels that this is the time for change and Indian politics is now ready to see its young faces emerge to power. Krisha Byregowda. Pic: www.krishnabyregowda.inWe are about to move when a group of elderly men stop…

On Wednesday, 15 April at 6:30 AM, I left for Lalbagh. Not for a morning walk, but to meet Captain G R Gopinath, the famous founder of Air Deccan and now an independent candidate from the Bangalore South constituency for the Lok Sabha elections. Gopinath was having a Yoga session that morning and his team had scheduled my meeting after the session, at 7 AM. Capt Gopi at the Press Conference - Announcing the kite as his election symbol (Pic courtesy: votecaptaingopi.com) As I was waiting, I could see most of Gopinath’s supporters and campaigners were in the age group…

After a long day of debates between candidates from Bangalore South and Bangalore North it was now Bangalore Central candidates’ turn to answer the public’s queries. The candidates looked tired at the end of a long day of campaigning.The event organised by Smart Vote and News9 on 14th April, at Sathya Sai Samskrutha Sadan, Koramangala, brought all candidates contesting for Bangalore Central on one dias. Candidates present included Dr HT Sangliana (INC), Vijay Raja Singh (BSP ), K Uma (SUCI), JD Elangovan (Indian Justice Party), Vijaya Bhaskar N (Independent). PC Mohan (BJP) and Zameer Ahmed (JDS) were absent.The session started…

I am the aam admi that these khas aadmis are talking about. Parties spend crores on their campaigns. Corruption starts right there. People should stop spreading hatred, as that is the source of all ills. These were some of the lines uttered by Lok Sabha candidates for the Bengaluru South Constituency at a debate on 14th April at Sathya Sai Samskruthi Sadan, behind Forum, Koramangala on Hosur Road. Candidates on the stage included Krishna Byregowda (INC), Prof K E Radhakrishna (JD(S)), Dr H G Jayalakshmi (SUCI), Capt G R Gopinath (Independent), K C Janardhan (Independent), Santosh Min (Independent) and H…

It was probably for the first time that candidates from a constituency came together, sharing the same stage, to speak about their agenda and plan of action if voted to power. Supported by Smart Vote, a campaign that provides information regarding candidates standing for elections, television channel News 9 organised a constituency-wise political debate for the Bengaluru urban area. Bangalore north candidates debate. (Pic: Naveen Ningaiah) The second session held in the afternoon on Tuesday, 14th April, had the candidates of Bangalore North debating. The candidates present at the event were C K Jaffer Sharief (Indian National Congress), D B…

Culture 40 'pallakki's, one festival One or two 'pallakkis' or chariots that carry the idol of God, are common in every festival. However Kodandaramaiah rathotsava in Hulimavu on Bannerughatta road is different. There will be about 40 pallakkis in just one festival held on Wednesday, 15th April. Kodandaramaiah temple is a historic, century old temple. There are many other temples in its neighbourhood. A pallakki from each temple will parade in this grand fest. Devotees of each temple compete with each other to make their pallakki attractive. The procession of pallakkis will continue throughout the night. (Prajavani, Monday, April 13)…

Meet Susheel Alexander Samuel – 22 years old and in his final year of mechanical engineering. From this picture, you're probably wondering what's familiar with the hairstyle... Ghajini? No…and that’s a long story. Susheel Alexander Samuel (pic: Sharath Bhat) As a teenager, Susheel was everything parents put on their wish-list. He was diligent, thoughtful, obedient and totally responsible – even when it came to riding his bike. He would always wear a helmet, even if he was just going down the road. So do bad things really happen to good people? It was 23rd February 2005 - Susheel had just…

Cruising through the tiniest of lanes in north Bangalore through the areas of Malleshwaram, Rajajinagar, Gayathri nagar, L N Puram, Subramanyanagar, he covered a distance of almost 20 kilo metres on a two-wheeler. Sporting a smile, waving out to onlookers, requesting them to support him, Bharatiya Janata Party MP H N Ananth Kumar campaigned for the upcoming elections. He was riding a black Honda Dio with Malleshwaram MLA Dr C N Ashwath Narayan riding pillion, and more than a 100 party workers in tow. H N Ananth Kumar (Pic: Vaishnavi Vittal) After more than two-hours of meeting, interacting and biking…

"Downturn is like baptism with fire. The day I surrendered my ID card, I was really down. It was a long day," expresses Suhas (name changed). Twenty-two year old Suhas started working with Sasken, a leading Bangalore-headquartered communications solutions technology company, in August 2008 as a fresh graduate. By the time he finished his six months training for his position as software engineer, the economic slowdown had hit his company. "The trouble started in October, bad news started pouring in. We were under constant apprehension. We thought we would go in December. In December, the firm started firing senior people.…