ELECTIONS

With just two days to go for Phase 2 of the 17th Lok Sabha Polls, civic campaigns complement the Election Commission of India's back-to-back activities on creating awareness about the right to vote. As part of the Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) activities by the Election Commission, Greater Chennai Corporation has organised various activities such as Parasailing, bike rally and workshops to reach out to the voters. The website of the Chief Electoral officer, Tamil Nadu is filled with awareness videos by eminent film personalities such as Vijay Sethupathi and Vivek. Created by the Election Commission, #MakeYourMarkTN is…

A two-time Lok Sabha MP representing Thiruvallur constituency, P Venugopal has been part of the 15th and 16th Lok Sabha. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Venugopal (AIADMK) defeated Ravi Kumar (VCK) by 3,23,430 votes. The constituency, with 17,02,833 voters, had 73.67 percent voter turnout in the 2014 elections, of which Venugopal attained 50.01 percent votes.  P Venugopal has won the seat twice since the creation of the Thiruvallur constituency since the delimitation exercise in 2008. P Venugopal is seeking re-election to the 17th Lok Sabha as part of the grand alliance of AIADMK with BJP among other parties in…

D K Suresh is a two-time MP of Bangalore Rural parliamentary constituency. The 52-year-old was born in Doddaalahalli, Ramanagara. Suresh was first elected through a by-election in 2013 from Bangalore Rural, after sitting MP H D Kumaraswamy resigned. He was elected a second time in the 2014 Lok Sabha election. Personal information Name: Doddaalahalli Kempegowda Suresh Age: 52 years Constituency: Bangalore Rural Party: Indian National Congress Term: 2013-2014, 2014-2019 Educational Qualifications: Higher Secondary School Profession: Businessperson, farmer, social worker, educationist Address: Doddalahalli, Kanakpura, Ramanagara District, Karnataka-562126 Phone: 9845029142 Email: dksuresh10@gmail.com Online presence: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DKSuresh.official/ Twitter: @DKSureshINC Criminal cases D K Suresh…

Kameela Nasser is an eloquent woman. A contestant from Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM), Kameela’s confidence and firm grip over grassroots level issues are rare in a newcomer to politics. Contesting from Chennai Central Parliamentary constituency, Kameela is fighting it out against big names: PMK (alliance with AIADMK)’s Sam Paul and DMK’s Dayanidhi Maran. A film producer, and wife of character artist Nasser, Kameela has been part of Kamal Hassan’s MNM for over eight months now. In a detailed interview with Citizen Matters Chennai, Kameela talks about her life before politics, the campaign trial and the pressing concerns in the constituency of…

We have a lot of issues in our neighborhood that can be solved by good governance. We have learnt that the only way to make improvements is by steadily increasing accountability of those in power. Active, engaged, informed, and vigilant citizens who vote determine who gets in power and what the outcome is. We remain non partisan and will not tell you who to vote for. Having helped thousands in Mahadevpura get on the voter rolls this year, we now share a summary of the  very successful "Meet Your MP Candidates" event held on April 14, 2019.  Who are they and what did they say? Click here to read…

K N Ramachandran, a veteran of state politics was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Sriperumbudur constituency in 2014. Sriperumbudur constituency consists of six assembly constituencies -- Maduravoyal, Sriperumbudur, Alandur, Pallavaram, Ambattur, Tambaram. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, K N Ramachandran (AIADMK) defeated Jagathrakshagan (DMK) by 1,02,646 votes. The constituency, with 19,46,503 voters had 66.10% voter turnout in 2014 elections, of which K N Ramachandran attained 42.42% votes.  However, he is not in the fray for re-election to the 17th Lok Sabha. Personal Information Name: K N Ramachandran Age:     63 years Constituency: Sriperumbudur Address: 4/163,G.S.T.Road,Vandalur Otteri,Chennai-600 048 Name…

This election season, Factly.in has put together a series of videos that seeks to deconstruct various aspects of the massive democratic exercise to make every citizen aware of its history, processes, rules and other relevant information. In the first episode,  find answers to what happened in independent India’s first ever election, how elections have progressed, what the Election Commission of India has been getting right, where we are now and where we are headed. https://youtu.be/fwRl66BOoKs [This video series is produced by Factly as a part of the YouTube GNI Innovation Funding and has been republished here with permission. The summary…

Alagaapuram R Mohanraj, contesting from Chennai North Parliamentary constituency on a DMDK ticket, is optimistic: he feels all is well in the constituency. With barely six days left for the constituency to vote in the Lok Sabha elections, Mohanraj is on the streets for more than 13 hours a day, and the success of schemes implemented by former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are a frequent refrain in his campaign speeches. The DMDK is part of the mega alliance with parties such as AIADMK, BJP and PMK. In a freewheeling interview, Mohanraj, a former Salem MLA,…

Potential MP Avare, Namaskara. I’m Sameer Shisodia, living in Bellandur (recently referred to as Outer Koramangala by an ambitious builder!). I have been living in Bengaluru for 23 years, love the city and what it represents, crave the bisibele bath and the coffee when travelling elsewhere, speak a fair bit of Kannada and am learning more. I have also voted several times for local, state and national elections. I have been involved in some community-led efforts for the lake and traffic around here - not as much as I’d like to and not close to what many in my community…

“We want policies and schemes that are people centric, not nominal ones that our elected representatives decide,” say volunteers of Chittoor People’s Action Committee (CPAC). CPAC is a pro-active citizen movement and the voice of the people in Chittoor, a city crying out for basic amenities and infrastructure.   CPAC has interacted with more than 5000 citizens from Chittoor, Gangadhara Nellore and Puthalapattu constituencies, to deliver a data-centric, in-depth citizens' manifesto.  The manifesto is the end product of various surveys and workshops such as Nenu Bharath Aithe (inspired from a political drama movie starring Mahesh Babu). The volunteers of CPAC…