Series: Lok Sabah Elections 2014

Haven't you seen asphalting going on in super-speed recently in your area? Haven't most of the roads been improved recently? So far we were all neglected - now the public good is seen as supreme. Why - oh, why? No prizes for guessing - the election season is here! Announcement of the Model Code of Conduct by the Election Commission means that new welfare and populist schemes cannot be announced by the governments during this period. It does not mean a full stop in the work that a government does. Political parties that haven’t done anything through out the period…

It was a rare scene on the streets of J P Nagar, where the educated, young, middle and upper class citizens took to the streets batting for a politician. Yes - a politician officially this day onwards - as Nandan Nilekani was inducted to Congress officially on March 9. Dressed in white T-shirt and holding banners that said ‘We are together with Nandan,’ many of Nandan Nilekani’s colleagues, software engineers, youth, men and women from various walks of life walked from Lalbagh East gate to Hemachandra Sagar Memorial Hall near Ashok Pillar in Jayanagar 1st Block. This was a “walk…

With the Election Commission announcing the poll schedules, the D-Day you’ve been waiting for is just 40 days away. Chief Election Officer for Karnataka, Anil Kumar Jha said in a press conference in Bengaluru on March 5 that the model code of conduct is already in place as the elections have been notified. This means there can be no public function, rallies or road show by any political party without obtaining proper permission from police. There can be no new programmes announced by the governments though the existing programmes can continue to work. There can be no hoardings of politicians…

Personal Info | Assets & Liabilities | Positions Held | Performance | Local Issues | MPLAD Funds  P C Mohan is a first-time Lok Sabha MP who represents Bangalore Central constituency. The constituency comprises of Rajanjinagar, Chamrajpet, Gandhinagar, Shivajinagar, Shantinagar, Sarvagnanagar, C V Raman Nagar and Mahadevpaura assembly constituencies. In the 2009 Lok Sabha election, Mohan (BJP) defeated H T Sangliana (INC) by over 35,000 votes. In the past, Mohan has been an MLA in the Karnataka Assembly on two occasions. Mohan contested the Karnataka Assembly Elections in 2013 and lost by a significant margin. However, if the rumours in the party circle are to be believed, he is going…

Poll dates have been announced. Bengaluru is waiting to show the power of the voters. The nine-phase timeline will have the polls scheduled in Karnataka on April 17th, 2014. The counting will happen on May 16th, 2014 across the country. In the world’s largest democracy, about 81,00,00,000 voters will decide the 543 leaders who will represent them in the 16th Lok Sabha. Karnataka has 28 Lok Sabha seats and Bangalore has three seats. EC Notifications The Election Commission (EC) on its website has begun announcements for the Lok Sabha elections. Letters have been sent out to the Chief Secretaries and…

Personal Info | Assets & Liabilities | Positions Held | Performance | Local Issues | Controversy Count | MPLAD Funds D B Chandre Gowda is a veteran politician who was elected to Lok Sabha from Bangalore North Constituency in 2009 elections. Bangalore North Lok Sabha constituency comprises of Yeshwantpura, Dasarahalli, Mahalakshmi Layout, Malleshwaram, Hebbal, Pulakeshinagar, Byatarayanapura and K.R Puram assembly constituencies. In 2009, as a BJP candidate, he saw off competition from his nearest rival, C K Jaffer Sharief (INC). Chandre Gowda secured 45% of the votes as opposed to 39% by Sharief. Pic:http://www.dbchandregowda.in Profile of D B Chandre Gowda Name: D.B. Chandre Gowda Age: 77 Date of Birth: 26 August…

In a few day’s time the city’s bustle will have a different flavour. The Election Commission will announce the poll dates for the Lok Sabha Elections, parties will announce their candidates, buntings will line the streets of Bengaluru. The cronies will put up photoshopped posters with mug shots of themselves with their favourite candidate. It is that time when the citizenry become aware of the forthcoming elections and subconsciously make a choice, to vote or not to vote, both groups convincing the other about the merits of their choice. I belong to the former group and have evolved from going…

Personal Info | Assets & Liabilities | Positions Held | Performance | Local Issues | MPLAD Funds | Controversy Count   Ananth Kumar is a five-time Lok Sabha MP who represents the Bangalore South constituency. The constituency comprises of Govindraj Nagar, Vijay Nagar, Chickpet, Padmanabha Nagar, Bommanahalli, Basavanagudi, BTM Layout and Jayanagar assembly constituencies. In the 2009 Lok Sabha election, Kumar defeated Krishna Byregowda (INC), a sitting MLA for Byatarayanapura, by a margin of over 37,000 votes. In the past, when the NDA regime was in power, Kumar was a Union Cabinet Minister serving multiple ministries including Civil Aviation, Urban…

Lok Sabha elections are nearing. People are waking up to see what has been done from the funds the Member of Parliament gets. For those interested, here is a little bit of history. The Government of India put in place the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) since 23-12-1993, (barely two weeks following the passing of the Seventy third and seventy fourth amendments on 6 December 1993), enabling MPs to identify small works of capital nature with emphasis on creation of durable community assets based on locally felt needs in their constituencies. The initial allocation of Rs. 5…