What can we do?

End of the writeup is an example of what the people in KR Puram want.

Slumdwellers are not considered people by the flat-dwellers....but they are the most suffering people on whose labour the flat folks can dwell...the urban poor in slums are also predominantly dalit...

and real development can only happen ony if the slumdwellers and dalits and ordinary people can get quality education , health care , housing and jobs.

This where our dear MLA comes in.

Does he even have an idea about what all this means. Does he know what his people want. He knows but he also knows what he wants. He is a real estate man and wants to expand his empire. Why should the feudal lord be worried about his slave ? How can you expect him to worry?

On one hand the new feudal lord formulates policies like : SEZ , PRIVATISATION of EDUCATION , PRIVATISATION of HALTH CARE ( all these are good for the english speaking - earning upper middle class - provides them more options - oh private health care - the upper middle class itself is crying - also its good for the urban feudal lord - as he owns all the choices ) but its disartorous for the oridnary person - as he is left to the TRICKLE DOWN from the earning upper middle class - for education - health and jobs - result : they either dont get educated - dont get health care - or forced to accept the philanthrophy of the soaftware engineers and real estate speculators - result : corruption - criminalisation in the rush to become - the enlish speaking elite of the city

SHAME on a country which makes development dependent on the philanthrophy of a few individuals.

Okay so whats the soultuion . Whats the use thundering in blogs . Whats the use thundering when the field is left to the BJP , Congress and the JD(S).

We have to work there .. how many voters meetings did we organise. How much of peoples real issues we understand . How much pain and suffering of the common man we know . I mean count the number of ordinary people who you are in touch with - to get them in to college this admission time . count the number of people who you have helped get health care - how much you consider hous maids - drivers - autorickshaw drivers - carpenters people ( If you are reading this on a computer you will be one of those who benefit out of globn - hence you have a responsibility )


Building peoples movement in the field is the only answer : a movement to campaign against communalism , caste , criminalisation .

Okay after voting today - lets think - what we can do - to work in K.R Puram( or in any other area) on a day to day basis throughout next year. Atelast we would have started something there. This could become a model. What are the most important peoples issues in KR Puram. What will give us entry. What are the needs ? If there is a small unit there ... then how can we stregthen it and so on.......

however elections - democracy - are all spaces - where peoples movements - can partner - to create better alternatives

thats the only hope for change.

----------------------------------------------------------------
from : http://www.wateraid.org/documents/plugin_documents/waterindiaslums.pdf

Profile - Nellorepuram slum is located in the KR Puram CMC, in the constituency of Varthur and constitutes Ward No 24. This is one of the oldest slums among the four studied and is about 50 years old. It is an authorized slum and is among the list of slums as declared by the Slum Board.

Water is supplied once a week for about 2 hours. It is mainly the women and children who fetch water. There are fights at the taps according to the children.

Lack of individual toilets and ill-maintenance of public toilets has let to many people using open spaces in and around the locality to relieve themselves. In terms of health facilities, there are no basic public health facilities in the locality; a private clinic is located in the northern part of the slum.

Nellorepuram has a population of about 2512 persons in about 500 houses.

As per feedback from FGDs carried out among women, youth and children,the families here are also migrants from Tamil nadu and Andhra Pradesh who have come mainly in search of jobs. There are Hindu, Muslim and Christian families living here predominantly SC ST and speaking mostly Tamil, Telugu and Kannada.

The main occupation of men is carpentry and painting, mainly as temporary
workers in HAL and BMCL. Women are mostly engaged in domestic work or
are paurakarmikas at the CMC, while children work in hotels or garages.

Most families have a BPL ration card and Voter ID cards are commonlyowned. Most families are paying property tax.

Manjunathanagar has a population of about 2250 persons in about 450 houses.

Manjunath Nagar also contains mostly Hindu families with about 10 households each of Muslim and Christian families. Most families have migrated from other southern states and rural Bangalore for better prospects. Tamil, Telugu and Kannada are the main languages spoken with a few families speaking Marathi or Malayalam or Urdu.

Reddypalya has a population of about 2750 persons in about 550 houses.

The people in this slum are mainly migrants from Andhra Pradesh and Tamil

Nadu. The residents comprise mostly of Hindus and some Muslim and

Christian families. Tamil, telugu and kannada are the predominantly spoken

languages. The residents mostly belong to scheduled castes, but there are

some lingayats and gowdas as well.

The main occupation of the men is driving, carpentry, vegetable vending and

construction work, and also as drivers (auto/taxi) while women are mostly domestic workers or working in garment factories. The children work in garages or help with painting work.

There is a high level of ownership or BPL ration cards and voter ID cardsamong the residents of Reddypalya and most of them pay property taxes too.

Sanjayanagar has a population of about 1875 persons in about 375 houses.

Most of the households comprise of migrant families.

As per information received from FGDs carried out among the men, women and children in the locality, residents are a mix of religions including Hindus, Muslims and Christians. Among the Hindus, the main castes include SCs and STs speaking Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Malayalam and Urdu; other castes include Reddys and Brahmans.

Main occupations followed by its residents include men working as painters,

construction labourers, Class IV employees in HAL, plumbers, cobblers and

factory workers; mostly working as daily wage earners. Among women it is

mostly working as housemaids in the nearby localities, flower vendors,

workers in garment factories and also rolling agarbattis not only for the

factory in the slum but for other factories as well.

Women quarelled with BJP leaders over election wages!!

Women are not far behind in the campaign. But there was big fight among women who had come for campaigning for BJP in KR Puram. THe local leaders though of giving the election wages(!) after 8.30 pm. But having spent more than 10 hours, women quarelled with local leaders that they should be given with their wages, since they have to go home and cook.

BJP & Congress cadres earn more than Techies in KR Puram!!!

Believe it or not, BJP and Congress cadres earn more than software techies in KR Puram campaign. Minimum daily wages for campaigning through out the election period is Rs. 1000/- per head per day with biryani for a lunch and heavy dinner with liquor. Unemployed youth found very happy on the wages they have been getting and are unhappy that election is going to be over soon!!

Now people get Rs. 200/- to 500/- per vote!!

Former Minister cannot match BJP realtor in spending!!!

In KR Puram, the Councillors of the BJP have been distributing Rs. 500/- per head for casting vote to Nandish Reddy. Congress local leaders are distributing Rs. 300/- per head!
Curious thing is in some pockets of KR Puram few drunkards have told CPI(M) contestant Smt. Gowramma not to visit them empy-handed and waste their time, since other parties have paid them well!!

Has Election Commission really curbed the expenses?

People really laugh if you pose this question to them. Atleast they are happy that candidates are spending all the money as contribution to them. Earlier, contested candidates used to spend more on publicity materials, sound system, public rallies, etc. But having put an end to all these expenses by the EC, now the candidates are distributing the same money to people to lure them.

Even the candidates feel it is easier to carry money and distribute, instead of organizing for publicity materials, sound system, public rallies, etc.!!!

The adventurous bus stands - K R Puram

Submitted by silkboard on 3 April 2008 - 11:56pm.
Bangalore
BMTC
Public Transport
There are a few of these special bus stands these days that exist right before a flyover or an underpass. Just as the road forks and grade separation begins, you find some crowd. Buses usually stops to block traffic heading towards the underpass or flyover. And pedestrians either have to run across flowing traffic, or wait in the middle of traffic to catch buses. Needless to say, you get a lot of 'almost' hit-and-run and screeching halt situations.
Examples? A very crowded one near K R Puram station (like in this pic here). One just before Jayadeva Circle underpass. One or two near Dairy Circle flyover as well. You would know a few more.

Chaos near cable-stayed bridge

Rasheed Kappan
From 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 4.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m., traffic comes to a halt
A resident says
When I was young, we used to play football on this road
Traffic has grown by almost 20 times and people now spend half a litre of petrol to cross the road

TRAFFIC CONGESTION: Vehicles caught in traffic on Old Madras Road near K.R. Puram in Bangalore.
BANGALORE: The cable-stayed bridge was once touted as the ultimate panacea for all traffic woes of K.R. Puram, a critical, crowded, chaotic entry point to the city from the Eastern side. For its architects, the bridge was a marvel engineered to perfection. Yet today, the bridge has emerged as problem number one for many road users, caught in traffic jams triggered by vehicular growth and the structure’s poor planning.
The irony was stark and clear. K.R. Puram residents, who, for decades, had to just cut across the Old Madras Road to be on the other side, have found the bridge to be an insurmountable obstruction. Vehicle users are now forced to ride/drive nearly two kilometres to take a “U” turn, an exercise that unduly increases their fuel bills.
Too narrow for heavy vehicles, the roads on either side of the bridge are now mostly jammed. Chaos reigns during peak hours. Trucks, Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation and private buses, call centre taxis and private vehicles of every hue, cram into every available inch on the narrow track under the bridge. Yet, the bridge mostly attracts only the traffic moving onto the highway to Kolar and beyond.
Retired ITI employee Madaiah had seen and experienced the traffic transition. “When I was young, we used to play football on this road. But in the last three years, traffic has grown by almost 20 times. I cannot see any use from this bridge. People spend about half a litre of petrol just to cross the road. There are simply no underpasses for vehicles to cross,” he complained.
From about 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 4.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m., traffic on Old Madras Road virtually comes to a halt. “With vehicles of employees of information technology and business process outsourcing firms moving in and out of the ITPL-Whitefield area and joining trucks getting out of the Outer Ring Road, you can imagine the chaos,” observed autorickshaw driver Ganesh. He too was convinced that the bridge had taken too much of the road space.
The only point where the bridge makes some sense is where it flies over the K.R. Puram Railway Station. But this is exactly the spot where railway passengers wait to board autorickshaws and other modes of transport to reach home. They are forced to brave the heavy traffic of trucks and buses here because this is the only vehicular passage under the bridge. “Traffic jams are frequent here. It gets maddening in the morning when many trains arrive and the passengers alight in hordes,” said Ganesh who has seen that happen time and again. For residents of Byappanahalli and adjoining areas, a trip to Mahadevapura and Whitefield had almost become unthinkable because of the traffic bottlenecks at the bridge and the Bennigenahalli railway underpass, said M.F. Jose, Secretary, New Byappanahalli Residents Welfare Association.
It was clear that most road users had wanted a flyover perched atop pillars, and not a bridge that sliced through the area. “If they had built a flyover with many crossings such as the one in K.R. Puram, it would have been much better,” felt 70-year-old Mohammed Yousuf, who had lived 20 years beside the Old Madras Road.
If the bridge seemed like a colossal waste of resources, the railway under-bridge ahead stood as a virtual traffic stopper. This bottleneck slowed traffic movement to a trickle. “It is a daily hell for us here,” said N. Ranganathan, who moved into a nearby apartment six months ago. He had just braved the heavy traffic to cross the road, an ordeal that showed on his tired face.
© Copyright 2000 - 2008 The Hindu

KR Puram voters seek basic amenities

By Afshan Yasmeen,DH News Service,Bangalore:

K R Puram, the largest constituency in the city (with an electorate of 3.08 lakh), lacks basic amenities like drinking water, garbage disposal and street lights.

For Nanjundaiah, a fruit vendor at the K R Puram junction, the forthcoming Assembly election is hardly a matter of concern. “Elections come and go. But our problems remain the same. Politicians promise to resolve them only when they come to seek our votes,” he says.His main concern is the chaotic traffic at K R Puram junction, where his stall is located. “I have witnessed so many accidents at this circle in the past ten years. There is no policeman to man the traffic here and people find it so difficult to cross the road. Can’t the authorities construct a pedestrian subway here, or at least depute a policeman to monitor the traffic?” he asks.K R Puram, the largest constituency in the city (with an electorate of 3.08 lakh), lacks basic amenities like drinking water, garbage disposal and street lights. “Except for the main road, not a single road in the interior areas is asphalted,” A V Shama Rao, a resident of Ramamurthynagar, said.

These issues raised by citizens are a clear indication of what people expect from their new representative. This constituency - which comprises 35 wards of the erstwhile K R Puram CMC, nine wards of Mahadevapura and three village panchayats of Horamavu, K Narayanpura and Agara - needs more development work than that required in a village, feel the residents.Congress contender A Krishnappa says, besides, lack of funds and improper planning by erstwhile CMC authorities are also responsible for this. The roads were designed years ago to carry normal traffic. Now the traffic has increased ten-fold and the population has gone up drastically. I will take up all these issues after I come to power. L Muniswamy, the JD(S) candidate, promises the same. “All these years I have experienced problems.” B T Naganna, Lok Paritran candidate, claims he has studied the constituency for the last one year. BJP candidate, Nandish Reddy, who resides in Nakkundi of Mahadevapura constituency, has put up an election office near M M Choultry in K R Puram.

Krishnappa’s assets defy market value

Friday April 25 2008 09:07 IST
Express News Service
BANGALORE: FORMER minister and Congress candidate from K R Puram Assembly constituency A Krishnappa’s family with declared assets of about Rs 2 .15 crore, is low in the affluence table of leaders seeking to serve the people.But the ‘current market value’ of his lands as quoted in his affidavit submitted to the electoral officer, has left many a commoner wondering as to when the realty rates hit rock bottom in Bangalore and Hoskote.Krishnappa has 22 acres of agricultural land at Ekarajapura in Hoskote, which has been quoted at a current market price of Rs 78 lakh. He also has 20 guntas, 4 acres and another 10 guntas of agricultural land in Devasandra village of K R Puram hobli which is now part of BBMP.Krishnappa, a former employee of the public sector Indian Telephone Industries (ITI),who joined active politics in the 1980s, has several non-agricultural properties too in and around Devasandra.The list of these properties and their current market price he has quoted is as follows:A 49X40 ft site - Rs 3.90 lakh, a 2272 sq ft office hall -Rs 5.20 lakh, a 35X17 site -Rs 1.05 lakh, a 4470 sq ft site -Rs 7 lakh and a large site of 45X210 -Rs15 lakh.When this website’s newspaper did a reality check, the current market price he quoted did not appear too convincing. According to Madhu, who runs a real estate agency in K R Puram: “You cannot get a site at a price less than Rs 1000 per sq ft in and around Devasandra which is now part of BBMP zone.”At this rate, the 4470 sq ft dimension site of Krishnappa should have been quoted at a current market value of at least Rs 44.70 lakh. But surprisingly, the affidavit shows a value of just Rs 7 lakh. The values of the other non-agricultural properties too tell the same tale.

Encroachment': notice issued to former Minister

Staff Reporter, The Hindu
High courtround-up PIL petition seeks reclamation of the land
BANGALORE: The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday ordered issue of notices to Varthur MLA and former Minister A. Krishnappa on a public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking action against the alleged encroachment of government land in the State and a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the Rs. 150-crore scam in K.R. Puram and Mahadevapura CMCs. The petitioner, H. Basavaraj, claimed that he was a former general secretary (labour cell) KPCC AW Forum, Bangalore.
In his petition, Mr. Basavaraj prayed for a direction to the State Government to take remedial and practical action to reclaim government lands which had been encroached upon by bureaucrats, individuals and politicians in the State.
CBI probe
He also sought a CBI investigation into the Rs. 150-crore scam in K.R. Puram and Mahadevapura CMCs.
Mr. Basavaraj alleged that Mr. Krishnappa had amassed wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income and sought a probe into it.
He alleged that land grabbing had been going on in the area under the guidance of Mr. Krishnappa.
A Division Bench comprising Justice B. Padmaraj and Justice S. Abdul Nazeer said it was of the view that "notices in the matter has to be ordered to the respondents as valuable property is alleged to have been booked out to certain vested individuals."
Apart from Mr. Krishnappa, it ordered issue of notices to the State Government, Deputy Commissioner, Bangalore Urban, and others and adjourned further hearing on the matter by four weeks.

K R Puram candidate pays Rs 14 lakh tax!

DH News Service,Bangalore:
Former Congress Minister A Krishnappa, who has filed his nomination from K R Puram constituency, has declared that he files an annual income tax of Rs 14,52,917.
According to the affidavit which the minister has submitted to K R Puram Returning Officer M Ashok along with his nomination papers, the above mentioned tax includes the Rs 2,05,830 filed as income tax by his wife Manjula.
The affidavit states that Krishnappa owns property worth Rs 7,28,85,000. This includes property worth Rs 2,09,25,000 registered in his wife’s name. That apart, Krishnappa has a total bank balance of Rs 26,94,619; and his wife’s bank account has a sum of Rs 2,06,937.
Krishnappa owns agricultural land in K R Puram Hobli and Kolar District, and non-agricultural land in Devasandra and Basavanapura villages of K R Puram Hobli in Bangalore.
That apart, he owns commercial buildings in Devasandra, Kalkere and Basavanapura villages and residential buildings in K R Puram, Devasandra and Hennur-Banaswadi Layout.
Krishnappa has a debt of Rs 95,79,600. He owes this amount to Syndicate and Punjab National Banks. Besides this, his wife Manjula owes Rs 9,85,377 to Syndicate Bank.

K.R. Puram has the largest number of voters

BANGALORE: K.R. Puram is a new Assembly constituency in the Greater Bangalore region and it has the largest number of voters among the 21 constituencies. Carved out from the erstwhile Varthur Assembly constituency (which no longer exists) and a few parts of Hoskote Assembly constituency, it has predominantly urban characteristics.
All wards of the erstwhile K.R. Puram City Municipal Council, and wards 3 to 11 of Mahadevapura City Municipal Council, which includes Sanna Thimmanahalli, Medahalli, Bhattrahalli, K.R. Puram, Ramamurthy Nagar, Doorvaninagar, Chikkabasavanapura, Devasandra, Vijnanapura, A. Narayanapura, Singayyanapalya, Annayyanapalya, Mahadevpura, Benniganahalli, Vibhuthipura and Vimanapura.
As many as 10 villages, K. Narayanapura, Kottanur, N. Nagenahalli, Kyalasanahalli, Geddalahalli, Horamavu Agara, K. Channasandra, Kalkere, Horamavu and Chalkere, that were included within the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike limits when the Greater Bangalore area was formed, are also part of this constituency.
Six polling booths from Bhattrahalli and Shegehalli of Hoskote Assembly constituency have been included in this segment, which is part of Bangalore North Parliamentary constituency. HAL Airport and ITI Colony are prominent land marks of this new constituency.

Can sincere people contest in elections - looking closely at K R Puram

K.R Puram : There are totally 15 candidates here.

We wanted to make a comparaison of the candidates backgrounds to see closely the fairness in the process. Please do the same for your constituencies. The information is got from the election commission web site and newspapers.

The main candidates are:

K.R. Puram: Krishnappa (Congress); N.S. Nandish Reddy (BJP); L. Muniswamy (JD-S); Gowramma (CPI-M); Abraham T.J (BSP); B.T. Naganna (Lok Paritran)
Even before going into any detailed analysis you can see that Nandish Reddy of the BJP has been fieleded only on the capcitiy to invest in the election business . His vocation states 'Builder'. He has "high assets" which needs to be investigated to restore trust according to the Karnataka Election Watch - Phase 1 - 2008 report. The JD(S) candidate Munnisawmy is also a 'Land Devleoper' and a first timer .

How do dedicated ordinary citzens contest against such people. We need state funding of elections and strict implementation of the same to ensure fairness.

These people will obviously look at developing their real estate through political power. How much of the common mans concerns do they understand. What experience will realtors and land speculators have in governance . These are serious questions. Why isnt the media raising this as the central issue in Bangalore.


B T Naganna : Lok Paritran

President, Karnataka State Unit, Age 38,
BE Mech from SSIT Tumkur, Entrepreneur manufacturing kitchen accessories like
baskets etc, 9845597452

He also doesnt seem to have a criminal record and looks like a fair entrepreneur.

Gowramma : CPIM : The women candidate . Full timer in the CPIM. Gets paid 3000 Rs. per month. Has been in public life for the last 15 years. She doesnt seem to have any criminal record. http://www.thehindu.com/2008/04/30/stories/2008043059110300.htm : says that "40-year-old Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate from K.R. Puram, Gowramma, is a former garment worker and who has been actively organising women workers since the mid-90s."
Congrats to Lok Paritran and the CPIM to have fielded candidates with integrity and fairness and no criminal records .

The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC) has identified 3 MPs - money power, muscle power and mafia power - and 4 Cs - criminalization, communalism, corruption, and casteism

Now we have to do a detailed analysis of the 4 Cs of these 4 candidates.

Money power :

http://www.hindu.com/2008/05/09/stories/2008050955611600.htm

Mr. Gowda said Rs. 30 lakh had been spent on organising the public meeting addressed by Ms. Gandhi in K.R. Puram. The BSP would urge the Election Commission to add Rs. 30 lakh to the poll expenditure of Congress candidate from K.R. Puram Assembly Constituency, A. Krishnappa, he said. If the Election Commission pursued the matter seriously.

Where is the election commission norm of 10 lakh per contituency.

You can see a good number of cars in the self declared affidavits by Nandish Reddy and Krishnappa.

The BSP candidate has assets to the tune of 10s of lakhs .

Gowramma seems to be a middle class candidate - with a regular LIC policy and 20,000 cash in hand etc. A house currently valued at 16,00,000 lakhs. The lok paritran candidate also seems to have proportianate assets in accorance with his job as a small scale entrepreuner and vehciles like bikes and scooters.

Muscle Power :

N S Nadishareddy, who is contesting the polls on a BJP ticket from KR Puram, has cases of rioting, unlawful assembly, voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty and mischief causing damage filed against him. Abraham T J, who is contesting from the same constituency with a BSP ticket, has been charged with causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons and wrongful restraint . Gowramma also has a pending case for unlawful assembly, rioting and trespassing but not related to murder , causing grievieous hurt etc...these could be the sections the police book for the dharnas and rasta rokos etc.

Shame on these candidates and the parties which have fielded criminals and speculators

K.R Puram constiutency affidavits can be got from here:

http://164.100.80.122/Affidavits/151/AC151CANDIDATE.htm

REAL(estate) sense of DEMOCRACY

This is just a story. Nothing of this is true..Its just election fiction ....

I am in Dangaloru a wondeful city in Karnataka. My constituency is DTM. I am at this crucial juncture. Two days from now I have to vote. Select my representative who will speak for me and the ordinary people still struggling with their life here in DTM.


Th main fight is between XXX Reddy with 9 crore declared assets from the party poor Gandhi wanted to dismantle and YYY Reddy (from the SAFRON SECULAR party)...with 300 crore declared assets

Today morning at the gym I meet two residents from my block. They say 'hi' and enquire whether me and my family are in the list . Yes they are .

They look quite 'Cool' - sneakers - shorts - cap - tennis bat and all that . One man introduces himself as the petrol bunk

owner next to our flat. The other as a business man. They say they are all proud to be working for XXX reddy and ask me to

vote for XXX reddy.

They quite openly flaunt their caste. I wanted to say 'Shame on you educated people to work on caste lines'. but realise that they are all proud and in no mood to understand. already dizzy in the little proximity to power which has not yet come.

They explain to me how I can get my small problems solved - if their XXX can make a phone call - from the way they talk I can make out how elections work.

Its like any business :

Investment
-----------
The investment is about 5-10 crores. The business cycle is 5 years. Requires a lot shrewdness and street smartness.

Business logic:
----------------

Step 0 : get ticket - Campaign etc

Step 1: Get to Power

Step 2 : Broker real estate deals

Step 3: Make a good site for yourself.

IRRITANTS - WORK HAZARDS
----------------------------------

- going to the assmebly - talking meaninfully

- understanding issues of development - thinking - creatively planning for your constituency


ATTITUDE :
--------------

SELF is SUPREME :: POWER - LIQUOUR - SEX - PROPERTY


Personality traits that are Dangerous :
---------------------------------------
- Honesty and Ethics
- Thinking that language , caste and communal lines is bull shit
- Trying to Plan and Implement policies for the ordinaing y person - DANGER !!!

Concept :
---------

Their are various sections of people and each of them can be bought. Every body has some problems. They need not neccessarily be solved - but promises are important. Lure them.

Caste , Language, Relegion : working on these sectarian lines is very important. DIVIDE and RULE.

Step 0 : Things to do
-----------------------

1) Campaigners - Seasonal requirement - Only during election time - 500 Rs to 1000 Rs / per campaigner / per day. Get as many as possible of them as possible

( oh they were complaining that there is a crunch in this area - its hard to get good campaigners - as the demand is high these days )

2) Have as many vehicles as possible - display power !!!

3) Arrange for pre-paid arathis - malas during campaign

4) Good non vegetarian biryani - is the only food - that people can digest - during the election time - after all its peak season - you eat good food in peak season!!

- festival time

5) Evening liquour parties are very important - a lot can happen over liquour

6) Pay cuts - to every one - from the most basic level -

1 vote - 1000 Rs .
Small leader of 10 peope - 10000 Rs - He takes care of trickle down
Bigger Leader - scale appropriately - be smart - spend prudently

7) Partner : Strike excellent partnerships : Work with caste associations, residential associations , self help groups , dalit sanghas , real estate big guys and so on

8) I was suprised at the amount of the work the caste based network is doing - and also suprised to see - that none of them really work - all of them are contractors - petrol pump owners - rent collectors - speculators and so on!!!


Now what can I do
---------------------

0) its a sad choice : I cant vote for a 100% good candidate. but should I curse its end of this world. Continue to pay my house loan or car loan - whashing machine loan - slog at office - watch cricket and forget about all this . Thats what is making it convinient for all these fellows. So I wont do that.

2) We are talking about a big Change - this will take time - It took 30 years for a Gandhi work for freedom - as Trilochan Sashtry of IIM tells. People have achieved small successes with simillar intentions - all this is important.

3) I will do my part . Also there are a few good candidates - who might not win - but it may be important to vote for them as they have integrity

4) I will talk to my friends : Dont vote on caste , communal lines - Defeat caste/communal parties . Try and select best of the worst

5) Participate in socially relevant and meaningful work like this - debate elections at home - Good citizen ship - is an important office to hold

6) Volunteer with groups like : http://www.adrindia.org/home/index.asp

7) Access ADR's website/press information : find out how criminal your candidates are . Vote for the best among the worst. See whether they are law makers or law breakers

8) Ask them questions : when they ask for votes : dont speak about your problems : speak about the ordinary persons problem.

Will the slum dweller next door get title deed . Can you follow up on that. When ? Does the person campaigning know the fees charged by XXX college in your area for B.Com . If you take 10 poor students who are getting into B.Com - will the MLA arrange for the fees. Will he create policies for these people to get quality education. What are the job oppurtunities he is going to create for ordinary people. Why isnt he starting low cost computer centers - to enable niche skills in youth in the consitutency - what are his plans . Ask them about the important things they did last term and see if they can convince you.


8) Be in touch with good activists - ask them who is a better choice in your area.

9) Campaign strongly against 3 Cs - Criminalisation CASTEISM , COMMUNALISM .

10) Support simple , honest candidates who have been in public life for long. Who have no criminal background or huge money power.

A pigeon, Robert, builders and forthcoming election

http://www.thehindu.com/2008/04/30/stories/2008043050170100.htm

Robert, a 16 year boy died yesterday coming closure to the live wire in Bangalore yesterday. All he was trying to do was to catch a pigeon and lost his life. This news can be brushed away like any other death news. Why should we talk about it now. He died for simple reason - Building violation. The building on which he was climbing was constructed violating the norms. A 66 kva high tension wire was going few feet above the building.

Are the building violations common in Bangalore? Of course, YES. Sometime back, I had a chance to meet with top BBMP official. He mentioned that 80% of the buildings, both commercial and residential have violations ranging from 10% to as high as 50%. When I asked him he smiled saying "most of the times our hands are tied. all these builders are either politicians or hide behind politicians"

There are many software park buildings, where most of us work do not posses occupancy certificate to even rent/lease it out. As individuals, many of us all get cheated by developers in the name of approvals, noc, power of attorney etc. All the hard earned money coming from coding goes in drain. End of the day, you get mental stress. There are murders happening in every slum in the process of capturing land. It is a different topic to discuss.

Where do these builders get strength and power to take us for ride by violating all the norms? Here goes the story...

Almost all the assembly constituencies in Bangalore urban and rural district, most of the major political parties (BJP, Cong and JDS) have fielded either a builder or builder's beenamies. Katta Subramania, Rohan baig, Kupendra Reddy, Satish Reddy, Muniswamy, Ramalinga Reddy, Raja Subramania.... the list goes on.

I am not even talking about the nexus between politics and builders. Today, Builders themselves run the government. Who is going to care about by-laws, rules, approvals etc? In the outgoing assembly, 7 out of 10 (now we have more constituencies) were represented by builders.

So, what can we do? I know we can do very little in the process. Atleast we can try to identify the candidates before voting and make a choice.

Middle and working professional will continue to get harassed by builders. Low income and slum dwellers will be thrown out of Bangalore. Roberts will continue to die.

May Robert's soul rest in peace while builders look for winning the elections next week!

- a mail from a software engineer - to a voluntary group mailing list

Maladies Plaguing the Electoral System - Solutions

from : http://sify.com/news_info/lspolls/pollprimer/fullstory.php?id=13401162

The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC) has identified 3 MPs - money power, muscle power and mafia power - and 4 Cs - criminalization, communalism, corruption, and casteism that plague the electoral system in India. This is not the first time that somebody recognised this bitter truth. The declining standards of governance which is visible right from the time politicians contest elections in order to rise to positions of power has been a major cause for worry among citizens. In the last ten years there have been at least four major attempts to find ways of reforming the system.

EFFORTS AT REFORM

1. Dinesh Goswami Committee (1990) looked at all major problems affecting the electoral system staring with incorrect voter lists to booth capturing and rigging of elections.

2. Indrajit Gupta Committee (1998) looked at the issue of election expenditure and the options for reforming campaign finances.

3. Law Commission of India in its 170th report on Electoral Laws (1999) dealt with reforming the FPTP system and legal ways of keeping criminals out of politics.

4. National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (2002) addressed the systemic problems affecting elections and suggested reform options.

Elections and Money Power

In India winning elections requires more than merely getting the highest number of votes. Candidates have to spend huge sums of money on their election campaigns. According to a study conducted during the 1999 Lok Sabha elections of 25 sample constituencies, the top four candidates who secured the highest number of votes in a constituency spent between Rs. 80-100 lakhs each.

Transportation - jeeps and other vehicles including the cost of fuel - is the most expensive item followed by printed pamphlets, posters, banners, buntings, cut-outs, mikes and loud speakers.

This estimated figure does not include the invisible costs such as -money spent on securing the party ticket, incentives like liquor, clothes or grains doled out to voters to buy their votes, money spent on campaign agents and also muscle men hired to intimidate voters and other related costs. This study found that 95% of the winning candidates from these 25 constituencies were from the rich class. Given such large amount of money required to win elections it is not surprising that the average citizen stays away from active politics.

It is not true that there are no limits over how much money candidates can spend on their elections. The Election Commission has fixed expenditure limits for both MP and MLA elections. At present a candidate can spend between Rs. 10-15 lakhs on an MP election and between Rs. 3-6 lakhs for MLA elections.

The actual figure varies from state to state as the limits are proportional to the size of the electorate in each state. Every candidate must present his/her accounts after the completion of elections to the Election Commission. Failure to submit accounts is considered a ‘corrupt practice’ and becomes a valid ground for disqualifying the candidate from contesting elections for six years.

When compared to the actual election expenditure incurred, it is obvious that every candidate violates the upper limit fixed by the Election Commission. But the escape route is provided by Sec. 77 of The Representation of the People Act 1951. Under this clause money spent by the political party to which a candidate belongs or by his friends, or any third person in his/her favour will not be included while calculating the election expenses of the candidate. In other words, there is no limit on the amount of money a candidate can spend through third parties.

With the exception of the political parties no other third party is required to tell the Election Commission how much money they spent during the elections.

Where does the politician get these huge sums of money from? Those who want favours from politicians contribute big money to their election campaign. Often this is black money which runs into several thousand crores.

The Indrajit Gupta Committee on State Funding of Elections suggested that the candidates be provided non-cash funding from the taxpayer’s money during elections. This would be in the form of free time on the radio and TV, free copies of electoral rolls and voter slips.

The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution suggested that the limits on campaign spending be raised to reasonable levels given the current reality. But these reforms should go hand in hand with stricter rules for auditing the accounts presented by candidates and political parties. A bill to amend the election campaign finance law has been introduced in Parliament last year. This includes provisions for giving free election material to candidates of recognised political parties

also see :

For state funding of elections

A multi-party parliamentary committee under the chairmanship of Indrajit Gupta recommends partial state funding of recognised political parties and their candidates in elections.

http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/fline/fl1604/16041100.htm

KNOW YOUR CONSTITUENCIES

K R Puram, the largest of the 21 constituencies in the city has a total electorate of 3,08,400. Carved out from the erstwhile Varthur Assembly constituency (which no longer exists) and a few parts of Hoskote Assembly constituency, this new constituency comprises of all wards of the erstwhile K R Puram City Municipal Council (CMC).
K R PURAMWhile localities form only 23 per cent of the entire population, Malayalam speaking people dominate the area.None of the roads here are tarred and open sewers, severe shortage of drinking water and rampant encroachment of lake beds are the other problems that are worrying citizens. Carved out from the erstwhile Varthur Assembly constituency (which no longer exists) and a few parts of Hoskote Assembly constituency, this new constituency comprises of all wards of the erstwhile K R Puram City Municipal Council (CMC).

It also includes ward numbers 3 to 11 of Mahadevapura CMC, this constituency includes Sanna Thimmanahalli, Medahalli, Bhattrahalli, K R Puram, Ramamurthy Nagar, Doorvaninagar, Chikkabasavanapura, Devasandra, Vijnanapura, A Narayanapura, B Narayanapura, Singayyanapalya, Annayyanapalya, Mahadevpura, Benniganahalli, Vibhuthipura and Vimanapura areas. Ten villages - K. Narayanapura, Kottanur, N. Nagenahalli, Kyalasanahalli, Geddalahalli, Horamavu Agara, K Channasandra, Kalkere, Horamavu and Chalkere - are also part of this constituency with six polling booths from Bhattrahalli and Sigehalli of Hoskote Assembly constituency.
Nandish Reddy is the BJP candidate and the Congress and JD(S) candidates are A Krishnappa and Muniswamy respectively. B T Naganna of Lok Paritran, the party of ex-IITians is also in the run. CPI(M) candidate Gowramma has contested in this election.

Awaiting another betrayal by our rulers

Realtors set to turn heavy hitters on poll pitch

While Bangalore’s real estate market continues to be in the pause-mode, realtors are bracing themselves to race on a different track: That of politics!

With Karnataka heading for polls, the appetite for power appears to be getting stronger among the real-estate players in the city.

A telling indicator of the phenomenon is the number of realtors who are making a beeline to Congress, BJP and JD(S) offices seeking tickets to contest elections — likely to be held in the second or third week of May.


There are 28 assembly segments in Bangalore, but the number of ticket-seekers from each of the three major parties is more than 300. Of this, a majority of the aspirants are from the real estate sector. The turnout has, in fact, baffled the head-honchos of the political parties.

A senior JD(S) leader and a close confidante of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda told Business Standard: “We thought we will have a tough time finding candidates in Bangalore, but were surprised when we received around 350 applications. A preliminary study of the applications revealed that nearly 70 per cent of ticket seekers have real estate background.”

The number is higher in the Congress and the BJP, which have commenced the exercise of distributing applications. The pressure from realtors on the Congress leaders for tickets has intensified following the return of former chief minister S M Krishna, who is known for his pro-urban stand.


“We will get to know how many realtors have approached us for tickets only by April 9 when we start scrutinising the applications. A rough assessment of the happenings is a pointer to the fact that the coming elections will be a battle between realtors,” Congress leaders contended. Same is the case with the BJP.

The fight for power is not only expected to get fiercer once poll dates are announced, but will also change the dynamics of funding. Unlike the 2004 elections in which the mining lobby was the main fund sponsor for all the political parties, Election-2008 will see the realtors flexing their muscles.

But the question is why are the realtors wanting to get into the political ring? One probable answer being: Through power, it is easy to grow business in leaps and bounds.

The real-estate operators, who witnessed the way in which the mining lobby controlled the previous JD(S)-BJP government, also want to have a free run in Bangalore which is on a massive expansion mode.

Former MLAs like Katta Subramanya Naidu, H D Kumaraswamy, Zameer Ahmed Khan, Prasanna Kumar, C P Yogeshwar and M T B Nagaraj — who have been associated with various real-estate transactions — have become role-models for other realtors.




“If they can make it big using power, why should’nt we give it a try?”, asked a realtor from K R Puram-Mahadevapura area. A victory at the hustings will not only help the realtor consolidate his property base, but will also aid him in undertaking mega projects around the city.


The entry of realtors, both big and small, is sure to jack up the poll expenditure. Though the Election Commission has fixed Rs 10 lakh as ceiling on poll expenditure to be incurred by a single candidate, the coming elections will witness real-estate money being thrust into the voters’ hands. Insiders in the three political parties claim that each candidate in Bangalore is likely to spend anywhere between Rs 4 crore and Rs 12 crore.

In all, election spending by all the candidates in Bangalore will be in excess of Rs 500 crore, say sources.

While the expenditure will be low in the old constituencies, it will be higher in new segments like K R Puram, Rajarajeshwarinagar and Yelahanka as these are areas where large housing and industrial projects are coming up.

A trailer of what is expected was shown recently when officials of the income tax department conducted raids on the premises of over half-a-dozen real-estate developers in and around Bangalore and detected unaccounted money to the tune of Rs 223 crore in a single day. A majority of the developers who were raided were associated with some politician or the other.


For the political parties, realtors have turned out to be necessary evils at this juncture.

“As the stakes involved are high, we cannot afford to field a simple-politician. If a realtor has to be fought, another realtor with the same spending capability has to be fielded,” a senior politician said.

Source: Business Standard

Campaigning in K'taka goes high-tech

Karnataka is witnessing one of the most hyped elections the state has ever witnessed. Parties like the Congress, Janata Dal-Secular and the Bharatiya Janata Party are doing everything in the book to outsmart each other so that could be the ones to call the shots at Vidhan Soudha -- Karnataka's seat of power.The run up to the D-Day is bound to be a pot-boiler and parties, apart from finalizing candidates to contest polls, are thinking of various ways market their candidates and also their agenda for the state. An evident change that one can get to see is the manner in which parties are going to canvass.
Committees have been formed in every party to ensure campaign superiority. Parties have chosen the high-tech route to canvass for votes.
Both Congress and BJP have two advertising agencies each in Bangalore to take care of the publicity. Although the JD-S is yet to appoint an agency, they have started work through party workers, who are in constant touch with television channels and web portals to advance their campaign.Advertising agencies, which did not want to be named for this report, say that this time the focus is on an alternative medium of advertising for the elections -- meaning fewer newspaper advertisements as compared to previous years. Considering that the Election Commission has put a sealing of Rs 10 lakh per candidate, parties feel that it would be cheaper to look for an alternative method of advertising.
Sources in Congress told rediff.com that they would be spending around Rs 2.2 crore on advertising. Apart from using FM radio stations and an SMS campaign, the party plans to woo voters in cities in style -- that includes use of giant LCD screens. The Congress has also started its own call centre in Bangalore, which gives updates regarding the agenda of the party and also its candidates.
Advertising agencies handling the campaign for the BJP say they will go ahead, more or less, on the pattern that Narendra Modi [Images] used in Gujarat. Apart from using television space to a large extent, their main thrust would be on bulk SMS. BJP leader Pramila Nesargi says that a hi-tech campaign is aimed not just to get the votes of the rich or upper middle class, but is also an attempt to bridge the gap in society. The BJP is expected to spend Rs 2 crore on advertising.The JD-S, which has always been projecting itself as a farmer friendly party, too has hi-tech plans. Apart from the television, they would on post advertisements on web sites. JD-S sources say they would concentrate on pop-up advertisements and bulk mailing system. The party believes the number of people using the internet has gone up five fold in Bangalore and hence this would be the best way of reaching out to the voter. Through the bulk mailer pattern, they would send out mails at random regarding their party, the candidates and also their agenda for the election. The JD-S is expected to spend anything between Rs 1.2 to Rs 1.5 crore for advertising.
Political parties also feel the need to have eco-friendly pattern of advertising. With the Election Commission making it clear that political parties should avoid the use of plastic, the use of buntings, flags and banners is being brought to a bare minimum.

Karnataka Elections 2008's Profile

The state of Karnataka will go to the polls in May 2008 to elect 224 legislators, as declared by the Election Commission of India.
There will be three phases of voting - on May 10, May 16 and May 22, 2008. The vote counting will take place on May 25, 2008.
Karnataka Elections 2008 – vital statistics
Total Voters
40,077,666
Total Polling Stations
39758
Female Voters
19,678,328
Male Voters
20,399,338