BBMP Elections

For over ten days now, Citizen Matters has followed the hectic election campaigns of candidates around the city. A mixed reality has already come out from our talking to candidates, their campaigners and voters. Some, for e.g. in Koramangala ward, have told us this: historically middle and high income groups (‘English-educated avaru’) won’t come out and vote on election day, so we cannot count on them for actually winning the race. We’ll stick to the ‘slums’.Others have done the opposite. Depending on the ward itself, many mainline party candidates have taken out door-to-door campaigns canvassing in higher income neighbourhoods and…

Babu Reddy, 37 is a resident of Devarabisanahalli. His ambition includes reading and social service. He has been part of social service projects such as building government schools at Devarabisanahalli, Kanahalli, Sullikunte to organising blood donation camps etc. He joined the Congress 15 years back and was the gram panchayat member between 2000-05. He is married to Sashikala and has two children.38 year P Mahesh is a native of B Nagasandra village near Bellandur Lake. He studied in Muni Hobbamma Boys High School, Coxtown and is into real estate business. Married to Shweta, Mahesh has a 4-year old daughter. His…

"Why is Banaswadi not as developed as areas in south Bangalore like JP Nagar, Jayanagar and Banashankari?", asked residents at a recent public meeting with candidates contesting from Banaswadi (Ward 27).All candidates said that the combined efforts of the Corporator, the BBMP and the public are required to develop the ward.Another resident, C M Subbaiah, also member of the North East Federation of Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) asked the party candidates why they had not raised their voice against the development of a BDA layout on a tank bed in the ward. "Your question is correct. We should have done…

On March 24th, residents of Rajarajeshwari Nagar were to get an opportunity to interact with their candidates on a common platform through a debate-cum-discussion, ahead of the BBMP polls. But, this event seemed to have not been taken seriously by the candidates who made cameo appearances and then left much before the debate got over. The event took place at Munivenkatappa Smaraka Bayalu, Rangamandira.Organised by Namma Bengaluru Foundation, in association with Ideal Homes Association, Radio Indigo, SmartVote and Citizen Matters, the event was meant to be an interactive session between the candidates themselves and also between candidates and residents. As…

CIVIC and the Federation of Civil Society Organisations of Sagayapuram, a coalition of Residents Welfare Associations (RWA's) in the ward, organised a debate for candidates of Sagayapuram (Ward no 60) and the residents of the area on March 24th at the Medico-Pastoral Association on Pottery Road from 4.30 - 6.30 pm.The ward is reserved for Scheduled Caste. The meet saw only around forty residents and two candidates participate.  Richards Town, Lazar Layout, Bagalur Layout and Sagayapuram come under Sagayapuram ward. Contestant Marimuttu addresses meeting particpants. Pic: Pushpa Achanta As no contestant was available even half an hour after the scheduled…

The Gangenahalli ward, north of Sadashivnagar and south of Hebbal, has four men contesting for the post of corporator. It comes under the general category. On March 24th, residents of Ganganagar and Ganganagar Extension and residents of Directorate of Quality Assurance staff quarters (DGQA) participated in the event organised by Janaagraha and the Residents' Welfare Associations to know their candidates. The candidates M Nagaraja, 49, (BJP), Muniraju, 43, (Congress), V M Raju, 52, (JDS) and Hussain Saab, 35, (Independent) had to face a volley of questions posed by the residents. Nagraja came half an hour late because he was participating…

Possibly for the first time in the electoral history of the BBMP council elections, a candidate has come forward to sign an affidavit that grants the people of her ward the 'Right to Recall' if she fails in fulfilling her duties as a Corporator. Nandini Shivkumar, 33, an Independent candidate from Subramanyanagar (Ward 66), has declared that she will step down from her post should she be unable to stop the road widening process on Dr Rajkumar Road (located in west Bangalore) and if she is found waning in her duties.Nandini Shivkumar signing the affidavit declaring to resign if she…

"Women are more available and more transparent than the men," said Kathyayini Chamaraj, Secretary of Shanthinagar Residents Development Association (SHRED). With BBMP council elections just round the corner, residents of Shanthinagar (Ward 117) assembled to meet with the candidates contesting from their ward. SHRED, in association with Citizens Welfare Association of Richard Town and Langford Town organised this programme. Col. Fredrick D'souza, President of SHRED said that garbage, road and stray dogs are the major problems of this area. Kathyayini echoed the expectations of the ward. She said that the ward communities should meet at a public place every month.…

Swarnamala Jain, a 51-year-old lawyer who has been a resident of HSR Layout for 16 years, believes that the issues of sanitation, water supply and stray dog menace should be prioritised. An independent candidate, she believes that the position of corporator will garner her enough experience to enter politics. Originally from Pune, Swarnamala has been living in Bangalore for the last 27 years. Her politician husband (a former Congress member) and son and daughter - both law students - are very supportive and contribute with new ideas, she says. She has declared assets worth Rs 1.5 crore. Swarnamala Jain. Pic:…

With a little more than 24 hours left for the BBMP council elections to take place, Domlur (Ward 112) residents got to familiarise themselves with their ward Corporator candidates in Domlur club on Wednesday, March 24th.The residents of the ward will choose their Corporator from five women candidates, namely L Manjula (Independent), Rajalakshmi Y L (Congress), Suguna H N (JD(S)), Geetha Srinivasa Reddy (BJP) and Sandhya Shantha Kumar (Independent). The ward has been reserved under the General category for women. Domlur candidates at an interaction with residents of the ward. Pic: Charu Sharma. As many as 150 residents came under…