Governance

Ours is a family of four adults and two children. We had prepared ID cards for all as per the procedure laid down by the election commission by getting official photos taken at corporation center. We, now, have our Voter ID cards with our photos and other required details. But when I recently checked before the election at the Help Center, we were surprised that our photos are not available in the computer of the Help Center. Again, they took our photos and gave us new ID cards. I really wonder how photos can go missing. Just four days prior…

It was a shame to read that only 42 per cent exercised their vote, inspite of all the propaganda that it is one's duty to vote. In my village of Gedalahalli Kothanur, there was a turn out in huge numbers. We had three centres  to cast our vote and we finished voting within a few minutes. From the news we hear it was the middle class who did not cast their vote. I think they should be penalised in some way. We have a sensible electorate now and by casting our votes, we are making sure we get good governance.⊕

I cast my vote today, for the very first time. For nobody. I decided to use 49-O. If I thought getting an EPIC was an adventure of sorts, the actual voting turned out to be even better. About  two days ago I got to know details about 49-O wherein you can choose to actually cast your vote for noone. You can get some details at http://lawmin.nic.in/ld/subord/cer1.htm and http://www.jaagore.com/issue/readComment.php?id=1538 My polling both was Evershine School in Sarvagnanagar. This comes under the Bangalore Central constituency. I had made up my mind to not vote for anyone. When I told the officers there…

If there is one striking feature to distinguish this election from previous ones, it's the focus on the young voter. From actor Imran Khan to Congress scion Rahul Gandhi, the messages relayed through media adverts and political speeches have all urged India's young voters to stop being apathetic and to come out and “make a difference”. Unfortunately, merely coming out and voting doesn't really indicate that candidates are reflecting your concerns or listening to you. R K Misra, Krishna Byregowda and Prof Rajeev Gowda during the presentation of the youth manifesto at IIMB last Saturday (Pic courtesy: Hemangini Gupta) In…

He is probably one of the few people who voted against the party diktat during the trust vote in Parliament in June 2008. This famous cop helped in the arrest of fake stamp paper racket kingpin Abdul Kareem Telgi and former underworld don Muthappa Rai among others, during his services as the Commissioner of Police, Bangalore City. Films have been made based on his work in the Indian Police Service and he has also appeared in one of them, as himself, playing the role of the Police Commissioner. In the middle of his hectic campaigning schedule and with commandos in…

To find your name in the voter rollCheck the Chief Electoral Officer's site and search for your name in final electoral rolls for the upcoming elections. » Find your name in the Bangalore electoral rolls for Lok Sabha elections 2009. Try various spellings for your name. Try searching by assembly constituency or by pincode. The results show the your name, part no, serial no and age.Other sites like One Billion Votes and Google Lok Sabha Elections portal are also providing search feature. (Note we have not verified the accuracy of their information) You can also see the final rolls (pdf…

My colleague and I were all pumped up when we thought of doing an 'election special' coverage. And yes interviewing/ grilling the politicians was amongst the most exciting part of it. We wrapped up most of our other stories and were all geared up to get interview appointments with our MP candidates. Soon we realised it was not as exciting and thrilling as we had imagined as it was hard to get any at the first place. To start with we somehow managed to get a phone number of a close aide of one of the candidates, and after a…

BANGALORE SOUTH» Report on debate between Bangalore South candidates, organised by Smart Vote and News9» Comparison chart of candidates at myneta.info Ananth Kumar - BJPFour terms as an MP. Served as a Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Tourism and Culture, Youth Affairs and Urban Development. Age: 50 years; Assets: Rs. 122.06 Lakhs; Criminal Record: None since 2004 * Citizen Matters' interview of Ananth Kumar * Click here for detailed profile. Capt Gopinath - IndependentWith an MBA and degrees from the NDA Captain has working life that includes 8 yrs service in the Indian Army, 17 years in Farming & Sericulture,…

It is a busy morning as I join INC candidate for Bangalore South, Krishna Byregowda on his way to Koramangala village, in his beige colour Innova. After participating in a television debate in the morning, he starts his campaigning for the day.This 36-year-old two- time MLA and currently President of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress is banking on his popularity amongst the youth. He feels that this is the time for change and Indian politics is now ready to see its young faces emerge to power. Krisha Byregowda. Pic: www.krishnabyregowda.inWe are about to move when a group of elderly men stop…

On Wednesday, 15 April at 6:30 AM, I left for Lalbagh. Not for a morning walk, but to meet Captain G R Gopinath, the famous founder of Air Deccan and now an independent candidate from the Bangalore South constituency for the Lok Sabha elections. Gopinath was having a Yoga session that morning and his team had scheduled my meeting after the session, at 7 AM. Capt Gopi at the Press Conference - Announcing the kite as his election symbol (Pic courtesy: votecaptaingopi.com) As I was waiting, I could see most of Gopinath’s supporters and campaigners were in the age group…