BBMP

 When there is a low turn out the party in power looses. So BJP may be facing the music. This is the conclusion of the TV News-9 program that had in the days evening live. This was done by “CVOTER” for the TV-9 channel. Mr. Prakash, Narayan swamy of JDS BJP and Cong were in the debate along with two more participants, whose name I could not get. 

Out of 229 seats the magic number to win is 150. The forecast is 

1. BJP 89-91
2. Cong 68-76
3. JDS 14-22
4. Other  17-25 

So is it that Operation Lotus part II will be enacted? 

 The exit polls gave the following result. Politics 

dear all,

Its time to start redefining in our own minds, on who is responsible for what after the BBMP elections.

In the vacuum these last few years, MLAs’ filed the space for citizen grieviences.The BBMP engineers started to come directly under them. Task forces were set up to almost run the city. The parstatals (BDA, BWSSB etc) became more a law unto themselves. (The elections themselves will not change the parastals; a governance bill is required for that) .And citizen direct invovelement, even thro a badly run and set up ward committee disappeared (Again a governance reform issue).

First thing, is to realize that a MLA’s job is to provide and monitor the laws and rules of the State. He should have nothing to do with how or where a road is built in a ward.

The councilor is responsible for ward priorities and resource allocations, through direct interaction with citizens or ward committees. He has nothing to do with the engineering aspects or the actual commercial tendering decisions.

Some of them have moral and positional oversight over others, but not direct interference in the others jurisdiction.

With state JD(S) chief H D Kumaraswamy on Monday brazenly saying that he saw nothing wrong in fielding criminals if they looked like winnable candidates, the comfort that Bangaloreans enjoyed, compared to those living in the cow belt, has evaporated. In an exclusive interaction with TOI ahead of BBMP polls, Kumaraswamy said that his criteria for giving tickets to criminals is simple: he/she should have the support of party workers and people of the area and should be able to win. Obviously a case of political arithmetic trumping morals and scruples. But, is it right to bring criminals into politics? “What’s wrong? It’s a chance for them to reform. If they change, isn’t it an achievement and better for the society?”

This was organised by Janaagraha's Jaagte Raho campaign at 6 PM on Friday, the 19th Mar, at the Town Hall, Bengaluru, in the background of the BBMP elections being held on the coming Sunday (28th March,'10)  

On infrastructure
From Mr R V Deshpande of Congress to Ms Shabha Karandlaje to Mr Narayanaswamy of JD(S), all made claims of how they were responsible for building up the infrastructure for the city - from the Hebbal fly-over to the K R Puram cable-stayed fly-over, to the signal-free corridors, etc, etc. Towards the end, when a question raised by a participant as to 'where the pedestrian came into view in all of these', was put to them, suddenly, each made a u-turn and started talking about how they plan to make the city totally pedestrian and cycle friendly.

Well, to symbolise the entire polity's commitment to this changed approach, can a consensus be possibly arrived at to demolish the totally useless National College fly-over, apart from of course dropping the Tagore circle underpass and such useless projects?

On corruption