Series: Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018

Never before in the history of Bengaluru (or even other Indian cities), have we heard of non-partisan groups of citizens reaching out to all their candidates, preparing a bunch of hard questions, and interviewing each candidate on video, and working to share the video with all voters in their constituency so each one of them can make the most informed choice. Mahadevapura’s Million Voter Rising (MVR) team has been working from late 2016 to enroll voters in their constituency. They went to court filing a PIL when they found irregularities in the enrollment process and protested when majority (more than…

If you are one among the 5 lakh voters of Mahadevapura, this is what you need to know! Background information Find your constituency Understand the role of the MLA Learn all you can about the candidates: see below Locate your voting booth: TBD How to cast your vote: TBD Candidates share their vision and action plan https://citizenmatters.in/candidate-debate-mahadevapura-bangalore-karnataka-elections-2018-24394 Incumbent MLA Profile and Track Record What did Mahadevapura MLA Aravind Limbavali do in the Karnataka Assembly in his 2nd term? How did Aravind Limbavali spend his Local Area Development (LAD) funds? Tracking Aravind Limbavali in the news Interview: TBD Performance evaluation from…

On 29th April 2018, less than two weeks before the Assembly elections, Million Voter Rising, a citizen group of changemakers from Mahadevapura constituency in Bengaluru, organised an interaction with some key candidates set to contest in the elections in their constituency. This included: Aravinda Limbavali - Incumbent MLA (BJP) Bhaskar Prasad (AAP) Ramesh Chander (Swarajya Party) K Sathish (JDS) A C Srinivas (INC) The opening session saw a brief presentation on the status of Mahadevapura and candidate introductions - with a general background of all the candidates, comparative statistics of their assets and the criminal cases against them. The organisers…

BTM Layout has a new candidate this year, who is out to make a dent in the vote share of major parties. Two budding journalists, Shravya Sharath and Gauri Mullerpatten, spoke to him on behalf of Citizen Matters, to understand his pitch and views on various issues. Excerpts: You are a first time candidate in the Assembly elections. People of BTM don’t really know much about you. So could you give us a brief about your background? Absolutely! It’s not that people of BTM don’t know me. I’ve been here all my life - I live this area. I’ve been…

Amid a busy day meant for campaigning, Sureshkumar took time to meet us during a break. He is one of the MLAs in Bengaluru who are in touch with people and socially active. Being a senior member of the Opposition, he has been actively raising issues related to Bengaluru and the State in the Assembly, seeking solutions from the Government. He spoke about his work, party's policies and more in the interview. Edited excerpts: What have you been able to achieve as an MLA in the last five years? As a true representative of the people from Rajajinagar, I have…

Women’s groups in Bengaluru, representatives from various political parties, Bangalore Ladies Circle and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry Ladies Organisation (FICCI FLO), came together to discuss representation in politics for women and women's issues. (WO)Manifesto, brainchild of Shruti Modi Kaura saw attendance by women from all walks of life at the TERI Institute on April 24. Shruti, once the Chairperson of Bangalore Ladies Circle 31, was only acting on her inclination to lead change when she went door-to-door asking for a seat in major parties. Soon, she realized there was no question of entering politics due to the…

Krishna Byre Gowda was the Agriculture Minister in the last Assembly. He is contesting elections again. In an interview, he talks about his vision, mission, work and policies. The interview: When you moved constituencies in 2008 to Byatarayanapura, it was newly added to the Great Bengaluru area. What were the challenges that you saw that needed immediate attention? As you said it was a newly added area to Bengaluru. All the amenities that people take for granted in a city like Bengaluru like underground drains, Cauvery water, roads, parks did not exist there. And when the area was being added,…

Ronur Venkateshappa Devraj is a three-time MLA currently representing the Chickpet constituency. He was previously elected twice from the Chamrajpet constituency, before delimitation of constituencies that changed the borders. His is a rags-to-riches story. Devraj’s father was a vegetable merchant at the city market and Devraj was the fourth son. He started his political career with the Youth Congress in 1970s was the Block Congress Committee Secretary, Chamarajpet. He entered the Assembly in 1989 from Chamrajpet and won the constituency twice consecutively. His close proximity to former Chief Minister S M Krishna was proven when he withdrew his nomination from…

M Krishnappa, or Layout Krishnappa as he is popularly called, is among the richest MLAs in the state given his background in real estate. The Congress leader was an MLC between 2000 to 2006. He even contested the MP elections from Bangalore South. He was the Minister for Housing in the Siddaramaiah cabinet and was the Minister in-charge for Mandya in 2016. The former Minister has been in the news with accusations of land grabbing around the Byrasandra lake being made against him. Krishnappa is among the Congress leaders who has a website for himself, though it is fairly dated…

Dinesh Gundu Rao, a second generation politician is a four-time MLA from Gandhinagar. He is an engineer by qualification but identifies himself as social worker and politician. His father R Gundu Rao was the Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1980 to 1983. Dinesh started his political career with the Youth Congress and steadily rose through the ranks. He is currently the Working President of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee. He held an independent charge for Consumer Affairs and also was Minister for Food and Civil Supplies in Siddaramaiah Cabinet. His urban and cosmopolitan image combined with his oratory skills has…