Governance

Gain in-depth understanding of civic administration, policy implementation and public policy. Find articles on the intricacies of urban governance, learn more about challenges and successes in local government operations, effectiveness of municipal bodies, and how it all affects the lives of citizens. Understand election processes and get critical information on choices and options. Be informed about active citizen engagement with governing authorities, and how residents can influence policy and hold them accountable.

What time are the booths open?Polling starts at 7am and ends by 6pm. How to find your polling booth?  To find your name on the rolls and print the details, do the following:Go to http://ceokarnataka.kar.nic.in/vernacularSearch_New.aspxSelect the district (usually Bangalore, or Bangalore Rural), your constituency, and put your name, relative's name, gender, and hit search.If your entry exists, it will come up on the screen. Click the details link on left hand side of the entry line and you will get a blue popup box that displays all your details including booth location.Using your mouse, mark the entire box. Copy and…

Read more

Rajaji Nagar was among the first few ‘planned areas' in the city. The size of this constituency is about 5.5 sq km. After remaining a traditional, residential area for long, there has been haphazard development here. Many residential areas have commercial developments now; unplanned growth and illegal buildings is an issue.This area has many educational institutions, hospitals and temples. Rajaji Nagar Industrial Area houses many large and small industries.The constituency is BJP-dominated - six out of seven wards here have BJP corporators. The wards here are Dayananda Nagar, Prakash Nagar, Rajaji Nagar, Basaveshwar Nagar, Kamakshipalya, Shivanagara and Sriramamandir. Of these,…

Read more

Most KJP election candidates in the city are ex-BJP workers. But in Sarvagna Nagar, the party is fielding Michael B Fernandes, who had been with the JD(U) until recently. Fernandes, 78, is a trade union activist, and is the brother of former union minister George Fernandes. His wife Donna Fernandes is the founder of Vimochana, a city-based women’s rights group. Fernandes is a physics graduate from Madras University, and is a retired engineer from ITI Ltd. A former corporator, MLA and MLC, Fernandes has been active in politics for the last 53 years. He was elected as a corporator for…

Read more

K R Puram constituency has areas that were newly added to the BBMP. Hence the civic issues here are also many, compared to core city areas. HAL Airport and DRDO division come under this constituency. So do ITPL, Tin Factory and ITI (Indian Telephone Industries).K R Pura is a large constituency covering nine wards - Horamavu, Ramamurthy Nagar, Vijnana Pura, K R Pura, Basavanapura, Devasandra, A Narayanapura, Vijnana Nagar and HAL Airport. The constituency is BJP-dominated. Eight out of nine wards here have BJP corporators; only Basavanapura has a Congress corporator. The main issue here is water shortage. Until recently,…

Read more

Shanthi Nagar constituency includes many of the posh areas in the city. A large part of the Central Business District - including MG Road, Brigade Road, Richmond Town etc - comes under this constituency. In addition to malls, this constituency also has traditional markets like Johnson Market. Shanthi Nagar bus stand is also located in this constituency. Even then, there are many basic infrastructure issues here. There are many slums that do not even have basic facilities like toilets or water. The constituency comprises seven wards - Jogupalya, Shantala Nagar, Domlur, Agaram, Vannarpet, Nilasandra and Shanthi Nagar. In these wards,…

Read more

It is election season in the city and the rest of the state. Most of the local news is about the strengths and weaknesses of the candidates and various political parties, campaign activities, problems existing in different constituencies and . In addition to this, are stories about voter awareness drives, poll code violations, contestant support campaigns by groups such as B.PAC and Praja Rajakiya Vedike, a political platform launched in 2010. Apart from all this, there are some specific groups of people who have brought out what they expect of the representatives to be elected, through detailed manifestos. These include…

Read more

Bangalore South Assembly Constituency is one of the largest in Karnataka, it consists of more than 4.1 lakh voters (an increase from 3.74 lakh voters in 2008) and comprises of the following BBMP wards: Gottigere, Konankunte, Anjanapura, Vasanthpura, Uttarahalli, Yelchenahalli and Begur. The constituency also includes five zilla panchayats and 10 gram panchayats. There are industrial areas (including Jigani), the Bannerghata forest, neighbourhoods with highrise apartments as well as smaller villages that got merged with greater Bengaluru. Incumbent MLA M KrishnappaM Krishnappa is a former Zilla Panchayat member. He secured the seat in the 2008 elections by a huge margin…

Read more

On May 2nd, Thursday evening, Citizen Matters editor Subramaniam Vincent anchored a video webcast conversation at Radio Indigo's offices in Koramangala. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Rajya Sabha MP was responding to questions collected over the day via his website and twitter on Bangalore, elections, and the future. Also present were Nicole Faria, the Bangalore girl who won Miss Earth 2010, and the popular and award-winning Radio Indigo RJ Michell Patrao. As part of his series Bengaluru on poll mode, Subramaniam Vincent presents a first-hand account of the discusison.With both girls in their early twenties, and Chandrasekhar being the politican, I asked them…

Read more

A constituency situated in central Bangalore, Shivaji Nagar which consists of trading hub in and around the iconic Russell Market and Bamboo Bazaar and affluent wards like Jaymahal and Vasanth Nagar, is in the general category. Known for edifices of religious and historical significance such as St.Mary's Basilica and Jumma Masjid in Shivaji Nagar and Someshwara temple and Gurudwara in Halasuru ward, the constituency has a large Tamil and Urdu-speaking population. With a total of 19 contestants including 11 independents but no women, this area houses the Karnataka headquarters of the Indian National Congress (INC) on Queen's road, Janata Dal…

Read more

All wards in Yeshwanthpur constituency are recent additions to the BBMP. This is a large constituency which also includes villages outside the BBMP limits. Hence many areas lack basic facilities compared to old BBMP areas.Kengeri railway station and Kengeri satellite town come under this constituency. It also has many industries. NICE (Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises) ring road and BMIC (Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor) passes through the constituency. There have been protests about NICE Ltd acquiring more road than is required, and using it to build private layouts. There have been various court cases on this; but in a recent affidavit,…

Read more