Governance

Two retired bureaucrats -- IAS and former commissioner of Bhubaneswar Municipality Corporation (BMC) Aparajita Sarangi (BJP) and retired IPS officer and former Mumbai Police Commissioner Arup Mohan Patnaik (BJD) -- along with Janardan Pati, the CPI (M) candidate supported by Indian National Congress (INC) were among the 13, mostly fresh, faces in the MP elections in Bhubaneswar. The city voted on April 23rd to elect both MLAs for the Odisha Vidhan Sabha and MPs to the 17th Lok Sabha. However, the primary legislative role of an MP notwithstanding, many voters in the Odisha capital, are still looking at their elected…

Manifestos of the various parties do talk about different plans to improve cities. Here is a quick summary of the key points related to urban issues. The Indian National Congress(INC) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] in their manifestos have promised proper implementation of the 74th Constitutional Amendment and thereby the devolution of powers to local elected bodies. The INC plans on introducing mayoral reforms where the Mayor will be empowered and have a term of five years. Both parties plan on developing an Urban Policy. The CPI(M) plans to move away from the concept of ‘Smart cities’…

This election season, Factly.in has put together a series of videos that seeks to deconstruct various aspects of the massive democratic exercise to make every citizen aware of its history, processes, rules and other relevant information. Political parties are key players in the democratic process and yet they were never mentioned in the Constitution when it was drafted. Why do we need political parties at all? Do they do anything to reduce chaos in the existing electoral system? How do these political parties form government? What is the difference between regional and national parties? What role do regional parties play in forming…

As the campaigning ended on Easter Sunday for all 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala, the big question is whether the BJP will be able to get its first ever MP from the state. Intermittent summer showers did nothing to cool the campaigning fervour of the three main contestants - the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) working to keep its 12 seats intact, the CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) hoping to not lose any of its current eight seats, and the newly-energised BJP which is hoping to cash in on the sentiments raised over Supreme Court’s Sabarimala temple verdict. The…

Dharwad Parliamentary Constituency (number 11) comprises eight assembly constituencies - Navalgund, Kundgol, Dharwad, Hubli-Dharwad-East, Hubli-Dharwad-Central, Hubli-Dharwad-West, Kalghatgi and Shiggaon. Six of these constituencies are held by the BJP while the remaining two (Kundgol and Hubli-Dharwad East) are held by Congress. Dharwad constituency came into being during the delimitation in 2008. Since then, it has been represented by Pralhad Joshi of BJP. While the constituency is new, this region's history dates back a thousand years, to the 11th century temple of Aharanishankar. It was around this temple that Pubballi (meaning ‘the old village’) developed. A few centuries later, the nearby ‘gateway…

During the Karnataka elections, 1512 flying squads, 1837 static surveillance teams, 320 excise teams and 180 commercial tax teams were activated. These flying squads, SSTs and Police authorities have seized cash worth Rs 16,80,30,371, liquor of 18,403.5 litres worth Rs 64,67,863.86, drugs weighing 143.1 Kg and worth Rs 7,52,700 and other items worth Rs 3,85,01,566. They have also booked 1976 FIRs till date. The Income Tax department, itself has seized cash worth Rs 17,69,98,570 and other items worth Rs 7,03,08,780. The Excise Department has seized 9,38,376.06 litres of liquor worth Rs.36,85,81,311 and 14.977 kg drugs  worth Rs.4,48,000. They have booked…

Pune is a city of many identities – it is dubbed an educational hub, an IT hub and even a city of retired people. Many of the residents are migrants who came here to work in the manufacturing industry that had been flourishing since 1960s. Since 1991, the IT industry has been thriving here and people from across the country have migrated in pursuit of employment in the sector. The parliamentary constituency of Pune, Number 34, is comprised of six state assembly constituencies: Vadgaonsheri (208), Shivajinagar (209), Kothrud (210), Parvati (212), Pune Cantonment (214), Kasbapeth (215). Though Pune has sent…

Ahmedabad East constituency was created as part of the delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituency Order(2008). Along with Ahmedabad West, this constituency was carved out from the erstwhile Ahmedabad constituency, which has been a BJP stronghold since 1989. The first two elections from the Ahmedabad East constituency have seen BJP candidates comes to power. Actor turned politician Paresh Rawal was elected from the constituency in 2014, but has decided not to contest in the upcoming elections. The constituency is spread across the districts of Gandhi Nagar and Ahmedabad and comprises of seven assembly constituencies: Dehgam, Gandhinagar South, Vatva, Nikol, Naroda,…

Ahmedabad West constituency was created as part of the delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituency Order(2008)and is reserved for candidates belonging to the Scheduled Castes. This constituency, along with Ahmedabad East, was formed out of the erstwhile Ahmedabad constituency, which has been a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stronghold since 1989. The constituency has seen two parliamentary elections since its formation, both of which was won by the BJP candidate Kirit P Solanki. The constituency comprises of seven assembly constituencies- Ellisbridge, Amraiwadi, Dariapur, Jhamalpur Khadia, Maninagar, Danilimda, Asarwa. As per the Election commission of India (ECI) website the constituency has a…

Dr Kirit P Solanki is with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and has been a member of Parliament since 2009. He  represented the Ahmedabad West Constituency in the 16th Lok Sabha and is known for introducing several private member's bills during his tenure. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Dr Solanki defeated Vaghela Ka (of INC party) by a margin of 49264 votes. The constituency with 1534400 voters saw a turnout of 62.87% and he received 63.97% of the polled votes. The MP will be contesting for a third time from the same seat when Ahmedabad goes to polls on…