ELECTIONS

Traffic congestion and mobility are among Bengaluru's topmost concerns today. In the run-up to the elections, as the spotlight turns on how the city's sitting MPs have performed over the last five years, their actions and stance on this issue certainly deserve some scrutiny. How have they engaged with the issue? Did they propose any solutions? The major traffic & mobility issues In 2019, Bengaluru recorded the second highest number of vehicle, with over 80 lakh. Nearly 84% of households have motor vehicles. Lack of first and last mile connectivity, reduced bus ridership, under-completion of metro connectivity across the city,…

Kalanidhi Veerasamy of DMK was elected from Chennai North Constituency in 2019. The son of veteran DMK leader and former state minister Arcot N Veerasamy, he had his debut political journey in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He is a graduate of Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Stanley Medical College, with a specialisation in Plastic Surgery. In 2019, a total of 23 candidates contested from various political parties and as independents from Chennai North constituency, which had a total of 14,87,461 voters. Dr Kalanidhi got 61.85% of the vote share and defeated his nearest rival, Alagaapuram R Mohanraj of DMDK, who…

As India gets ready to vote to decide who will represent them in Parliament, Citizen Matters is speaking to elected Parliamentary representatives from Mumbai. We will ask them about the work they have done for the city, policies they have supported and why Mumbaikars should cast votes in their favour (or of their political parties). As part of this series, we spoke to Gajanan Kirtikar, who represented Mumbai North West for the past two terms. He is an active Parliamentarian who was one of top 10 MPs who asked the maximum number of questions during their tenure, according to a report…

Name: Gajanan Kirtikar  Constituency: Mumbai North West Gajanan Kirtikar, 80 is an old hand in Maharashtra politics and has risen up the ranks of his party. He has always been with the Shiv Sena, having been part of the core team of Bal Thackeray, subsequently working under Uddhav Thackeray. He chose to move to the Shiv Sena faction led by present chief minister Eknath Shinde.  He served as a legislator for four terms between 1990 to 2009 and then entered the Parliament for two terms from 2014. He also served as the minister of state for home and tourism and…

As India gets ready to vote to decide who will represent them in Parliament, Citizen Matters is speaking to elected Parliamentary representatives from Mumbai. We will ask them about the work they have done for the city, policies have they supported and why Mumbaikars should cast votes in their favour (or of their political parties). As part of this series, we spoke to Gopal Shetty, who represented Mumbai North for the past two terms. Shetty has now been replaced by Piyush Goyal by his party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who will be seeking votes based on the work done by…

Name: Gopal Chinayya Shetty Constituency: Mumbai North Member of Parliament, Gopal Chinayya Shetty, 69 has been representing the area that falls under Mumbai North constituency in various capacities. First, he worked as a local corporator for three terms since 1992 and later, went on to become Mumbai’s deputy mayor. After that he rose to the state assembly from the Maharashtra legislative assembly from 2004 to 2014.  Since then, Shetty has been representing the Mumbai North constituency for two Parliamentary terms. In 2014, Shetty defeated Congress’ Sanjay Nirupam by polling in 70.1% of the voteshare by getting 6,64,004 votes as against…

The Lok Sabha Elections (General Elections) 2024 are coming up in a matter of months. Elections are crucial in a democracy like India, as it allows citizens to choose the leaders, who will govern the country for the next five years. How we vote has a direct bearing on the formation of the government at the Centre, and therefore, it is important for all eligible voters to exercise their franchise. If you are gearing up to vote in the parliamentary polls in April-May, it is essential to ensure that your name is the electoral rolls. Have you registered as a…

In September 2023, the Government of India constituted a high level committee (HLC) to examine the feasibility of holding simultaneous elections to the Parliament (Lok Sabha), all state legislative assemblies, municipalities and panchayats in the country — a proposal floated as One Nation One Election. The panel, headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind, has now invited members of the general public to send their suggestions in writing for making appropriate changes in the existing legal and administrative framework to enable the same. One can post suggestions on the Committee's website or send an email to se-hlc@gov.in (as mentioned in…

The basic necessities of democracy are timely elections, as well as formation and continuance of an elected government without any delays or truncated tenures. The idea of 'one nation, one election' has caught the attention of the people as the Government of India wants to adopt a policy of simultaneous elections across the country. It has formed a high level committee (HLC), headed by the former president of India, Ram Nath Kovind, to examine the matter comprehensively and make recommendations for holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, the state Legislative Assemblies, the Municipalities and the Gram Panchayats. Even though…