Freakonomics - barbed wire, bricks and ....

Some portions of coastal Karnataka region have seen a sudden increase in the demand for barbed wires, bricks, cement etc. Why is this?

Let's know a little bit about this region---

The region is also communally sensitive. Communal violence is not uncommon, because of the substantial population of all major religions - Hindus, Christians and muslims. The region also borders the state of Kerala which is also a major trading destination of this region. BJP has captured majority of the seats in this region, thanks to the powerful trading community. Apart from trade, agriculture is a major occupation. Vast expanses of paddy and coconut fields are a pleasant sight to watch. People of the coastal portions of the state are traditional. Lot of Gods and temples are scattered around the region. The temple that stands out is of Lord Krishna in Udupi. Because of Krishna's love for cows, the region has lot of cows. Among the Hindus, its considered as a God like many other animals. This is the socio-econo-politico background of the region.

Back to the question - why an increase in demand for barbed wires, bricks and cement suddenly?

People have started constructing fences and compound walls around their paddy and coconut fields.

Why?

Not because of any danger of land sharks encroachments. But because of the fear of bulls. Bull attacks on the farm workers and owners are on the rise in the region. 2 of my relatives were injured in such attacks recently.

Why are bull attacks increasing?

The bulls are of no use, unlike their female counterparts - cows. Cows yield milk and via artificial insemination, can give birth to more cows. The bulls were traditionally either left free or sold to butchers who would send them across to Kerala where the demand for beef is high. Even the ones that were left free would have been taken by the butchers.

The ruling BJP has now become strict on cow slaughter ban. Trucks carrying cows to Kerala were seized. So the bulls are not killed. Many bulls are adopted by temples, but many more are free and on the run. These aggressive bulls are attacking humans and vehicles now. To protect themselves from these bulls on rampage, people are constructing fences and compounds around their lands.

Conclusion - the increase in demand for barbed wires can be attributed to the cow slaughter ban introduced by the BJP and enforced by local Hindu organizations.

Democracy

Hate speech
Drove a wedge
Into the thinking hearts

The chief evaded media questioning

But buckled under peoples ballot mandate

Posted in 3 word wednesday
Prompt - evade,buckle,wedge

Hint to kill

Idi Amin (ex-President of Uganda)

Sheen in the eyes
Hinted the obvious
His Lust to kill !

Posted for 3 word Wednesday

Strikes and Deals – India this week

This is the summary of the events of last week. India saw strikes and we also were involved in some “deals”.

Strike 1 –
The citizens participated in a strike against the taxi and autowallas. We called it MeterJam. This media\internet hyped event saw little success but if you are on social network sites, your views may differ. Some also compared this as a David vs Goliath war….I am not sure who is David and who is Goliath.

Strike 2 –
A small strike by the Indian cricket team captain, MS Dhoni. Mr Cool, lost his cool about a bad practice pitch offered by Lankan cricket board. The practice pitch was bouncy and good length deliveries turned out to be bouncers. Karthik got hit on the elbow during practice. The already unfit Indian outfit were in for another blow. Dhoni lost his cool and walked away in protest, from practice. The team followed and observed the strike.

Strike 3 –
Our dear Parliamentarians did a mini-strike. They stalled the Parliament session for a day to ask for hikes. The “poor” MPs wanted a 400% increase. As the cabinet surprisingly put this on hold, the united MPs decided not to work for a (yet another) day. Though there is still no decision made on this, it’s hardly a  tough guess to predict the outcome.

Deal 1 –
In a Times Now expose, we got to know the deal between India and US. India wanted some favor from the US in a world bank issue. Montek Singh wrote to a top official in the US govt requesting for help. In the quick reply, the US official asked Montek to handle the ‘noise’ created by the Dow Chemicals judgment.  We all know how we got silent on the entire issue of Bhopal gas tragedy.

Deal 2 –
After Randiv shamelessly bowled a no-ball to Sehwag and denied him a well deserved century, the media lambasted the Lankans. Technically, Lanka had not committed a crime. But audio\video recordings, bowlers apology, twitter messages forced the Lankans to take some action. Captain Sangakkara was to be blamed. Seeing SL’s precarious position in the tri-series, a deal was set and a bakra was caught. Dilshan was fined and Randiv was suspended for a game – effectively both lost a match fee.

Deal 3 –
Govt was looking for a support for the nuclear bill to be passed (pending since a long time). And they got support from the most unexpected party – BJP. A separate headlines came on the same day. CBI announced that Gujarat’s BJP CM, Narendra Modi is not involved in the Shorabuddin encounter\murder. Though some call it co-incidence\truth, I think it was a bloody good deal.

Amidst all these, we also celebrated our 64th Independence day.

Ridiculous prohibition!

Can you believe that this can happen in India?
Yes of course, it can happen only in India.

Maharashtra has got a law(or in the process of getting a law) which prohibits “Pinda pradhan” and “Mudra dharan”.  I read this article in Vijaya Karnataka (Kannada newspaper) on Sunday (1st August 2010). Surprisingly, I did not find this in English dailies.

Pinda pradhan is a ritual that  is being performed by a lot of Hindus as a tribute to their close dead relatives. It’s done on special days and even on the death anniversary day.  There is a special significance if this is conducted in Gaya or Varanasi\Kashi. The Govt’s reasoning is nothing short of ridiculous. Govt thinks that this is waste of money. Now govt decides on how I spend my personal wealth!!

Mudra-dharana is a ritual which the Madhva sect of Hindus follow. A heated 1 sq inch copper piece is placed on the hand or chest. The significance of this is explained here. The reasoning from Govt is that this is causing physical pain. I agree that burning causes  pain. But if it is done voluntarily, I cannot see a problem here. A relative of mine got this sometime last month. He is an Ayurveda doctor and he got this done because of its medicinal value (not sure of what exactly is the value though). But why target this ritual alone? Example - Acupuncture is also hurting. (I am not asking them to ban acupuncture.)

I hope the Maharashtra govt wakes up and takes some positive action on this matter...Immediately.

Accident ?

It was complete darkness. Ranganna knew that his time had come. Time to join his dead father and GOD. "What did I do to get this death?" he thought.

---------------------------

It was the year of drought. Yet another year. People dying of hunger and thirst were common. Children had no energy left to cry. Cows had stopped giving milk. Men sat on their acres of barren land looking at the blue sky and blazing sky. Women scraped the almost empty vessels to prepare the alternate day meal. The 30 families of the village were deciding to leave the village and go to the city for job and food. Ranganna waited for his death. He never thought of leaving his ancestral home and go to the city. His faithful wife never disagreed with her husband.

Anil Reddy came to the village with his set of cars and followers. Trucks followed. He arranged for food. He gave the villagers new clothes. He arranged for water. Water to drink and bathe. Every villager was happy. Villagers were blinded by the treatment they got from their elected leader.

Then the leader made an offer, which none could resist. "I give each family 25000 Rs per month. I will give you a home in a nearby town. A home bigger than your current ones. The town has schools, hospitals, play grounds and water. You can work and earn more. I will pay 2 months pay in advance." Everybody nodded. Excited. They felt they were in dreamland. "You will still own this land. I will ensure that this land is given back to you whenever you want it back." With this said, his followers started giving Rs 50000 to each family.

Ranganna was hesitant. He asked "what happens to my home here?" "Your homes will be intact." answered the leader. The money was too tempting. Ranganna finally accepted it.

Next day, the entire village boarded trucks with their belongings. They traveled 30 kms to their new home. Anil Reddy came to their home complex and wished them good luck. "Welcome to a new home and a new life. Your children will have a bright future" he said. "Your 25000 will come to your bank account every month. My boys will come to each of you and help you in opening bank account. Do not forget to vote for me in the next elections." he said and left. His followers were well prepared. They got the thumb impressions of villagers in various papers. Ranganna suspected Anil's intentions. Though an illiterate, he asked "Why so many papers? And not all have bank symbol." "Don't worry. Anil Reddy will show that you have been given 25000 from the drought relief fund. These papers are for that." Ranganna agreed.

Anil Reddy's joys knew no bounds, as he saw those papers. He was now ready to extract the wealth from the land.

The villagers settled for the cozy life style of their new homes. Free money came to them every month in their bank accounts.

Ranganna saw large trucks moving towards the village. Some nights Ranganna heard loud explosions. One day he asked the bank officials about the trucks. The official told him about the coal mine in some of the villages near by. When Anil Reddy came to their homes, Ranganna asked if their village had coal mines and were their homes still intact. Anil Readdy replied "Yes, you are all the owners of the coal mines. The profit from the mines are given to you. Your land was useless for agriculture. Now because of mines you are earning a lot. Your homes are intact." Ranganna did not believe his luck. He was the owner of a mine. He had never dreamt it. He knew that the land was not good for agriculture after successive years of drought. Ranganna thought that Anil Reddy had saved the entire village. Little did he realize that his leader was minting money and throwing peanuts at Ranganna.

Anil Reddy's luck ran out. Opponents caught the wealth accumulation technique of Anil Reddy. They planned a sting operation through a media agency to know about the mines. Ranganna revealed everything that Anil Reddy had done to the villagers in the sting operation.

Anil Reddy came to know of the sting operation conducted through his trusted aides in the media. He quickly hatched a plan.

Anil Reddy went to the home complex. Informed the villagers that they can all visit their homes in the village. He arranged of the trucks to take them. They were the same empty trucks that carried coal back. As the villagers entered their village, they were in for a shock. Some of their homes were broken down and what remained was to fall anytime.  Ranganna's home was now the mining company workers rest area.The area was completely black.

Anil Reddy insisted that they all go on a mine trip and see how it looks like inside a mine. As the villagers entered the mine, they heard a loud explosion.

It was complete darkness. Ranganna knew that his time had come. Time to join his dead father and GOD. "What did I do to get this death?" he thought. His arms and legs were probably thrown off. His head seemed to break fast. Breathing became tough. And he died.

Epilogue -

Next day newspaper

Mine accidents claims 80 lives. Anil Reddy deeply mourns the death of the mine owners and workers. "Its a tragic day in the history of the taluk. As a mark of respect, I will build a 'Mine owners smarakh' in their home complex."

Media dropped the sting operation, as the person who spoke on the camera was no longer alive and there was no evidence against Anil Reddy.

Anil Reddy's agents bought the mines and continued to run the show.

Disclaimer

All characters are fictional. Any resemblance to any real character is just co-incidence.

A letter to Mr. Qureshi

Dear Mr Qureshi,

First of all thanks for hosting an Indian delegation for “talks” in Islamabad. You have done a great job as a “host”. The “guests” are very happy with your treatment!

Coming to the serious issues that have marred the bilateral talks - In strongly worded statements you have hit out at India and the Indian delegation headed by the foreign minister, SM Krishna.
The media on both sides (India and Pak) is gung-ho over your statements. You seem to have created a new debate topic for the news hungry media. When it comes to Indo-Pak topics, the debates are intellectual in nature. But by your “cheap” comments, you have tried to bring down Ind-Pak debates to a street quarrel.

Sometime back, I read a research paper on “Fear psychology”. I do not remember the author, but still remember the details.  The paper said - “Fear” kills the “reason” side of the brain. “Fear” ignites the “instinct” side of the brain. And “instinct” without “reason” more often leads to “blunders”.  This is the reason why people die in fire and stampedes. “Instinctively” people run from inside the building (which has caught fire). “Reasoning” would suggest that you need to crawl towards the exit, because smoke goes higher. People die more of suffocation than burn injuries.

Looks like, you said what you said because of the “Fear” you are in. The “Fear” of the ISI. The “Fear” of the Pak army. The “Fear” of being ‘taken off’. The “fear” of the terrorist groups within Pakistan. And most of all, the “Fear” of ‘Facts’. You are after all a human. And these fears have killed your “Reasoning”.

The entire world knows how notorious is the ISI and how powerful is the Pak army within Pak. Recently the USA and India got hard evidences through Headley that ISI was arm in glove in the 26/11 attack on Mumbai. It’s no secret that ISI and the army control your Govt and your policies  (FYI…in most other countries, the Govt controls their army and intelligent agencies). It’s also no secret that even today your army considers India as their enemy No.1 (though its more than obvious the enemy No1 is within Pak). The Pak army did invade into Kargil and the then Pak PM had no bloody clue of this! Later the army chief becomes the head of state. That’s the power of your army. Every minister of Pak including you fear them. Isn’t it?

You grew puppies which have grown into monsters called Terror Orgs. The puppies were supposed to bite Indians. But now that you allowed them grow into monsters, they need more food. They are feeding on common men and women of Pakistan. You have no control over them. Not even to save your fellow citizens.  Poor you! And it’s too hard for you to digest the fact that this is known to the entire world. Especially when an Indian tells this, it hurts most.  And when the US tells this, you fear most. And when your own media whips you on this….You run out of any reasoning.

Look at what your newspapers during the talks. Facts. Facts that your govt is incapable of handling the internal crisis. Fact that you cannot handle India well. Fact that you did not have your side of agenda for the talks. Fact that you did not talk Pak side. And the fact that you are not the person who should represent Pak in Indo-Pak talks.

So to counter all these “Fears”, you chose the easy route. BLAME INDIA. Bravo. Not even cared to do it with dignity. Phone calls, ill-prepared, time-bound talks…Dint you get better reasons? I am sure your experience would tell you that you goofed up. And big time. I am sure, you will regret this, probably in your auto-biography.

Come on Mr. Qureshi, Krishna wants a better and fearless counterpart.

Best Wishes,
Common Indian

Prithvi - A cool watch

Jacob Verghese, Puneet Rajkumar, John Kokkin, Parvathi Menon and Manju Mandovi have weaved a very good & pleasant sounding movie. It is refreshingly fresh and a much needed family movie for the Kannada movie lovers. 

No wonder Deve Gowda watched this Kannada movie in theater. His dislike for the mining groups of Bellary is well-known.

 

For people who are interested and know about current Karnataka politics, Prithvi is a great watch. 

If you are not, you may still enjoy the movie purely because of the smooth flowing screenplay and colors used by director Jacob.

 

Puneet looks and dresses smart for his role of DC of a Karnataka district. Bellary. The story revolves around how the mining mafia controls the entire district (and the state). The DC fights for the rights of the people and has to face the wrath of the politicians and the local goondas. Parvathi, the DC's wife shows the personal side of the DC.  

 

Jacob's direction deserves applause. The last fight sequence is captured well. The songs and the colors used in the songs are pleasant. He seems to have a love for blue (like me) and that's great. The locales for the songs are dusty, ruins and suit the story.

 

Manikanth Kadri's music is also hummable. Lack of pre-launch publicity for the movie and music resulted in people catching the songs a bit late. Better late than never.

 

Puneet and Parvathi make a nice pair. John Kokkin has the right look of a villain. Bulging biceps, sharp eyes and curly uncombed hair makes him the perfect opponent for Puneet. Avinash, Sadhu kokila come and go. Support cast have also done a decent job.

 

As all movies, this one is also not perfect. The ending of the movie is slightly crappy. The dancer Puneet is not seen in the movie. The personal side of DC's life could have been handled in a better way. But these are minor things and have very less negative impact on the entertainment quotient of Prithvi.

 

The best is reserved for the last - Dialogues. Manju Mandovi has done an excellent job. One-liners make you smile and also hits your brain. I do not want to reveal any of the one-liners because it deserves to he heard in context.

 

Overall a good Kannada movie with a good team effort.

    

Karnataka in National News

The year 2010 has not started well for Karnataka.

My state has been in prime time news of most national channels. You think its good. No, Its in news for all the wrong reasons.

 

• The turmoil in the present BJP govt made headlines. The govt was about to fall with lot of dung flying around. Karnataka politics had hit an all time low.
• Our ex-PM used very foul language against the present CM of Karnataka. Yes, it was caught on camera. It kicked off a debate on the kind of language that politicians use.
• Then came the tragic fire in one of Bangalore's commercial buildings. 7 people tragically died. Good amount of hue and cry resulted in. Debates on the fire safety measures in buildings started, which is good.
• IPL brought some cheers with Bangalore team doing reasonably well. But the happiness was hit by bomb blasts. There were some bomb blasts on the eve of a match which resulted in semis moving out of namma Bangalore. Security in Karnataka became a concern.
• Karnataka based swami was caught in the act. His ashram near Bangalore was raided. Dirty videos splashed news media and internet sites. I should agree that this did not create a big dent in Karnataka's image.
• The Tharoor gate opened the Reddy gate also. Illegal mining by Karnataka ministers was the debate in Parliament. Karnataka was again in bad light.
• Now its Halappa. The ex-minister is embroiled in a rape case. Videos, audios make the news sensational. Karnataka's politicians are going from bad to worse.

 

Smaller stories like Belgaum issue, the Hogenekkal issue, power crisis in the state etc always take some slot in the bulletins.

 

Luckily we still have some competition to share space in the "bad news section". Telangana, Lalit Modi, Soren and Mayawati share stage with Karnataka.

Words of wisdom from volvo conductor

Day before yesterday night, Mr Ashok the honorable Transport minister of Karnataka had a dream. In the dream he thought he can make moolahs by drastically and irrationally increasing the tariffs in BMTC volvo buses. So he woke up in the midnight and sent a SOS to his officials in the department. Frantic activities started in the night and by morning of 28th April, printouts of the new tariffs were released to all the volvo conductors. Sleepy, confused conductors were surprised (to put it mildly). 

The officials forgot that the ticket vending machines are not adopted for this fare change. But quick action was taken and the conductors were given the traditional paper bundle tickets for the day. The officials had done their job. And done it in good secrecy. The press and hence the public were clueless about the hike in fares.

I took the volvo bus in the evening. It was chaos inside the bus. The passenger gives some money, conductor gives ticket and no change back. Passenger argues, scolds the conductor, abuses Yeddi (the honorable CM), conductor has his counter arguments.....and this almost happened with every passenger. Our conductor devised a new strategy. He said to the passengers that the fares are increased from today. He said "I will give you at a discounted price and pulled the tickets out of his bundle at the older price or older price + small delta (still less than the increased fares)". 

There were some interesting quotes in the bus from the conductor.

• The frustrated conductor was speaking loudly to the driver. He said "the officers who took the decisions are in ac rooms in the safe zone. We conductors are in the danger zone, getting all the abuses from the passengers."  He continued "we are the jawans and the officers are the politicians who take decisions so that the jawan faces war". Lovely words of wisdom!

• One passenger suggested that the conductor gives the phone number of the officers who took the decision on fare hikes. The witty conductor replied "this is govt bus, not your company cab. There are no mobile numbers printed anywhere on the bus". Interestingly I had never noticed this...how true! 

BMTC website has a call center number published.

Question remains unanswered

With every election the answer to the following question gets murkier and murkier...

What makes a party win an election?

• Previous record
• Current performance of itself and opposition
• Strength of the opposition
• Caste
• Leadership
• Alliance
• Money power
• Loss of choice for the voter
• Corruption
• Candidate profile
• Promises
• etc 
• etc

These and many more form a matrix, which is hard to crack. And this makes the GREAT Indian democracy really GREAT.

BJP won the BBMP elections by a handsome margin, beating all predictions. Lets see what the current BJP govt has done.

Previous to this civic elections, BJP was nowhere in BBMP (this is the first time BJP has got to power in a civic body in South India). Their performance as govt of Karnataka was below expectation. Acute power shortage, no hikes for govt officials, transfer corruption, NICE controversy, water scarcity, vulgar money power of miners (CM acknowledged this), infra projects not progressing, frustration internal quarrels spilled out in public etc etc Still BJP won the polls hands-down. We also have a divided and a leaderless opposition which has helped BJP.

Of-course there are some good work done by them.

They have utilized the JNurm funds for having good roads and good buses. The compound walls of govt establishments are now beautifully painted (making the city look better).

Even with these good points, can anyone from BJP answer the question which i posted above with honesty and sincerity. I bet NO. The question couldn't be answered by Congress when they beat Vajpayee's BJP\NDA to head India.

Its better that state BJP realize that we have given them another chance to prove their worth. Repay us with good work for our votes.

Congrats and Good luck to BJP!

The immediate effect for sure will be increase in cost of living...

Candidates would want to get back the money they spent in elections, so some projects will start in each constituency.

A better question to end the post -  

Will Bangaloreans enjoy a better life under the new BBMP setup?

     

My prediction of the verdict

This blog is scheduled for publishing after the elections. I am writing this on 27th, the day before BBMP elections. Not sure if the constitution and judiciary will allow publishing of "opinion polls" before elections.


My prediction is

BJP will win 100-105 seats
JDS will win  8-15 seats
Congress will win 65-70 seats

Independents - 5-8 seats


BJP will win my constituency (161, Hosakerehalli).


Not really sure if, I want my prediction to be correct!

whom to vote?

The Dday is fast approaching. March 28. People of the city will decide what will decide the fate of the BBMP candidates and in-turn decide the fate of the beautiful city called Bengaluru.

There are 4 important candidates in my constituency. There are a lot more i suppose.
3 from the major 3 parties. 1 independent.

I know one candidate since I was a kid. It looks like, this is his problem. I know him so well that I know his weaknesses. And this is overwhelming reason not to vote for him.

Then there is another candidate known in my locality as a good guy. He is not so rich. I know a little about him. But he is representing a party which I hate.  I am also pretty sure that he will not win. So my vote may go waste, if i press the button against his name.

The last party candidate is also known to be a good person. Reports say that he has done lot of good work for his village. But he is in the constituency since 6 months only. So does not know much about the problems. He is filthy rich and I am skeptical about his visions (please note - there are also rumors that he owns a good number of bars and that's his main source of income).

I don't know much about the latter two, apart from what people and news reports say.

Lets come to the independent candidate.
Being an independent - He is a sure shot looser. Tragic. He is one who has a good vision. My father has worked with him at an association of local residents.

He has taken some initiatives to get traffic signals, new buses to the constituency. He is good but parties did not give him ticket. He can't spend money like how the others and so cant reach the masses.So my vote to him would be a waste.

Knowing a person well can be bad and\or useless. Hmm!

Is an unknown friend better than a known enemy? or vice-versa?

Campaign techniques for BBMP election

This election has been one where innovative campaigning is the flavor.
Some interesting ones here (without party names)

Gift for Ugadi
Did you expect saree, dhothi etc? They were there. But there was also a gift pack containing a kg of rice, dal, jaggery and oil. For the day after Ugadi (where some consume non-veg), people were given mutton. Live sheeps were also distributed for slaughter.

Respect - Candidates knock your door with their supporters. They fall at the feet of elderly people. Flat. Good exercise isn't it? Believe me, there are some oldies who fall for this fake respect.

Green campaign - People are gifted 2-3 saplings to plant. Lets make Bangalore green. But where to plant the saplings?

Cool drinks
Candidates distribute cool ayurvedic drinks (kashaya) in the parks where people do their early morning walks. It's hot outside and cool drinks (not the pesticide-wala) are welcome.
I have also seen parties distributing tender coconut water in signals. Message - See our greenery is vanishing, so temperatures are increasing, vote for us to see the garden city green. Amazing!

Water - Truck loads of water are being distributed to small colonies. Look what your party has done. We need to supply water. Vote us and you will have 24hr water at your doorstep.

Clean the area - Candidates and supporters sweep the roads, collect garbage in trucks. Again the message is - If you want such facility, vote for me.

Street dramas - Showing the plight of people under the current govt. And how the candidate can help solve the problems. Worth a watch - Lasts 15 mins.

Role plays - Autos with mikes play role plays (is the sentence correct?).
Guy1 - Hey, you look so sick? What happened?
Guy2 - I am having fever since 3 days?
Guy1 - Dint you go to doctor?
Guy2 - I cant afford it. And the govt hospital is in city market. How can I go there?
Vote for xyz to get hospitals at your locality.

Wondering what more can be seen....Today is Rama navami and bounty to fall on the laps of voters!
  

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!!