BBMP elections is here

Finally finally, there's going to be elections for Bengaluru corporation. After n number of years, n number of court cases, n number of reservation lists - we finally have a date when we need to get our nails painted. Its one great thing to happen. Happy for it. Kudos to the court for forcing the issue on the govt. Without the court order, govt would have postponed the election at-least by 8-10 months. By April 3rd we will have our corporators on the BBMP office.

Like every election, there are several burning issues to be addressed...Several more creep-up in every election.

Just some random thoughts on the BBMP election..

New constituencies
As Bengaluru grew, it was prudent to think of splitting the city into smaller chunks. So there are new constituencies. My previous constituency - Padmanabhanagar is split into 4 now. This has thrown up a new issue. Residents do not know which constituency they belong to. Hence they do not know who their candidate is. With no postures, paper hangings, less than 15 days of campaigning...its getting hard for the candidates and the residents to know each other. Not enough is done by govt, EC or whoever to educate the people.


Rich candidates want to be richer
Over the past 3 years, the city has made several people rich. No, its not because of the IT or BT sector. Its because of the real estate value. I can see this close to my place. People owned acres of farmland, used for cattle feeds, vegetables, ragi crops etc. These guys converted all their land into sites...and sold it at unimaginable prices making them rich instantly. Crime over land increased (my area has seen at-least 3 murders related to real estate). Lavish black money brought or bought charisma to land owners. Richness increased hunger for power & power kicked in the greediness to generate more money. Vicisous circle of power. These rich guys fund parties and hence are the candidates for this election. Will the rich politicians feel the pulse of the poor?

Lack of vision
Every candidate should give out a manifesto or a vision statement on how he would develop the constituency. Its really pathetic to hear candidates still talking about water, sewage, power. 60 yrs and still struggling with basic stuff. I don't' say that the real estate guys are not intelligent enough to have a vision. Their intelligence is just blinded by one vision - Money making!! Somebody needs to tell them that their land value would increase if there is all round development of the constituency.

Bribe for votes - Corrupt voters
I am not a preacher of anti-corruption. I have myself paid bribe to police at-least on one occasion. (Sometimes, I am silly to even boast of it as an achievement..Find it sic after doing it though). If the voters are corrupt, we just cant expect a non-corrupt candidate. My point to the voters is - Be corrupt but use your brain when you vote. Accept bribes from every candidate who tries to bribe. Vote for the one who you think is best. More often, it turns out that the highest bribe giver will get the votes. This is sad. In my area, there were already Ugadi bribes in kind. One party distributed dal, oil, jaggery, rice and other party distributed mutton the day after Ugadi! That is the last freebie voters would get until the next election...so don't hesitate to accept it.

Budget of Bangalore
How the budget for Bangalore distributed to constituency? This is not clear atall. Is it based on the development levels of constituency? Population? Growth prospects? number of malls in the area? Political clout of the candidate? I feel the last one has the major impact...So its even more critical to vote for the right candidate who has the vision and clout\backing to achieve the vision.


Sorry feeling that I do not have a magic wand to fix all the issues!
But vote..and consciously!

My other blogs on elections.
Chamarajpet-and-shimoga-elections
Screw a state
Laloo looses Bihar
Election time - The lady rocks!
   
No doubt, I am a big fan of the Indian election drama!!