Series: Lok Sabah Elections 2014

Nina Nayak talking to people during campaign. Pic: Nikita Malusare Despite being pitted against formidable rivals, AAP's candidate from Bangalore South, child rights activist, Nina P Nayak is the picture of positivity and confidence, as she speaks to Citizen Matters on elections and life before and after her foray into politics. How is the world of politics different from that of activism, considering your background? Politics is quite a different ballgame. I joined at the invitation of AAP and I’m really enjoying it as this movement has percolated at all levels. After a long time, people are actually interested in being…

When it appears that everybody has lost hopes with the Indian National Congress, Bengaluru’s own billionaire Nandan Nilekani decided to partner with the party. With the aim of becoming the champion for Bengaluru, the man behind the multi-crore Aadhaar project, gave an exclusive interview to Citizen Matters at his campaign office in Jayanagar on March 20th 2013. This was just a day before he declared his family assets — Rs 7,700 crore.   Nilekani shared his thoughts on governance, why he chose to join Congress, and what he can do as an MP for Bengaluru, which is run by MLAs…

There are two kinds of leaders. One who leads by example and other who motivates others to  set examples. India as a country has seen many such leaders. Gandhi was probably the only leader who fell in both categories. He showed his resistance against foreign rule himself first and then motivated others to join him. But that is indeed rare. People like APJ Abdul Kalam and Sachin Tendulkar have led by example. They have shown ordinary people how dedication, determination and talent can make us shine. People like A B Vajpayee, Subhash Chandra Bose have motivated, inspired others to set…

The enormity of the Lok Sabha Elections is many a time difficult to comprehend. The machinery that has clicked into the play mode is not only that of the political parties but that of the Election Commission too. The numbers are tallied in millions of voters, in crores for poll expenditure, in lakhs of polling booths, polling agents, police, paramilitary, reserve police and even unaccounted for cash that is seized. The world’s largest democracy is going into polls and it is therefore excusable that the elections for the country’s 16th Lok Sabha is hogging a lot of media space and…

Last week, when I and my wife were going out, we saw a small political rally behind us. What caught my attention was, one of the politicians who was the centre of attraction in the rally, was using an official vehicle. This left me wondering whether using office vehicle in political campaigning is allowed. So I did my research and bumped on to this set of guidelines called ‘Model Code of Conduct.’ Here is a look at what the Model Code of Conduct is, what does the code talk about electoral violations, how do citizens know if they are witnessing…

The ever-smiling staunch BJPian Devaragunda Venkappa Sadananda Gowda, popularly known as DVS, has been in politics since 1983. Born in 1953, he graduated in science, and had a brief stint as an advocate, before plunging headlong into politics through Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Jan Sangh. Hailing from Puttur of coastal Karnataka, with a strong RSS background, he became an MLA from Bharatiya Janata Party in 1994. He then contested Lok Sabha elections in 2004. He entered Lok Sabha by defeating the now-central Minister Veerappa Moily. He headed Karnataka BJP in 2006 as its state president, and was perceived…

In the narrow lanes of Shantinagar, off the Markam road, Bangalore Central Candidate for Aam Aadmi Party V Balakrishnan decided to start his first campaign, Jansabha. The location was the crowded junction of the five lanes that had constant movement of scooters and bikes. The event was scheduled on Friday, 14th March 2013. Young volunteers ran up and down fixing the banners and placing the red carpet on the floor, while senior citizens distributed the pamphlets. The party’s symbol “Zhadu” (broom) was placed at the two open corners of the stage. At the background, the speakers relentlessly aired the Aam…

He is among the new breed of fresh faces aspiring to win elections and bring in a change in Bengaluru. And he represents a party that brought about a sea change in the way the game of politics is played out in India. Meet V Balakrishnan, the representative of Aam Aadmi Party for Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha Constituency. V Balakrishnan, called Bala by his partymen and friends, is the ex-chief finance officer of Infosys. Born and brought up in Vellore, Tamil Nadu in a classic middle class family, Balakrishnan has three elder sisters and one elder brother. His father was…

The past week has certainly set the tempo for the oncoming Lok Sabha Elections in Bengaluru. A frenzy of sop announcements, inaugurations, stone-laying, flagging off activities were seen just days prior to the announcement of dates for the elections when the Model Code of Conduct would be enforced. The elections were announced on the March 5th. About 72.62 lakh Bangaloreans will get to vote on April 17th. Notifications for filing nominations for the 28 constituencies in the state will be announced on March 19. Accounting of expenditure incurred by the candidate for poll expenses will be tabulated from the day…

You live in Yelahanka and always thought you belong to Bengaluru - but no, you can’t vote for any candidate from Bangalore - your area falls under Chikballapur constituency! There are many areas like this in Bangalore. Knowing the boundaries of the Parliamentary constituencies is important - because some of the wards that fall in BBMP limits actually belong to Bangalore Rural or Chikballlapur when it comes to Parliamentary voting, which is totally different when we consider the profile of the urban and rural areas. https://opencity.in/explainer/how-to-find-your-constituency-in-bengaluru/ Here’s a list of the Assembly constituencies and wards that fall in each Parliamentary…