MLC for the Bangalore Graduates Constituency (election to which is coming up around June) is the only reprsentative - at any level of government - who is elected across the whole city, indeed the entire metropolitan region. This is an office unlike any other, and ideally it should be held by someone who can articulate a vision for the Bangalore city and region, and work to build it.
If there is one person who is most eminently suited to taking up this position, it is Dr Ashwin Mahesh. Apart from many other things, he has a research appointment each at the IIM, Bangalore and at the CiSTUP in IISc. He also has an Adjunct Faculty appointment with IIIT, Bangalore. He was responsible for introduction of BMTC's BIG-10 services; he helped the traffic police develop India's first Traffic Management Centre; he is a member of ABIDe; and, the list is endless.
And, most importantly, his name is now on the prestigeous "Wired, UK" list of world's 50 smartest men - http://loksattakarnataka.org/node/140
Read more about him at about him at 'about me' @ http://www.ashwinmahesh.in/me.htm, from which site you can also find the answers to whatever questions you may have with regard to the position as well as the election.
Here is also what Dr Jayaprakash Narayan has to say on Dr Ashwin Mahesh - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ulZDHvByCQ
Now, we all have an opportunity to provide this very man, who is already quite a force in the city governance space, and with whom the educated lot can readily communicate (through FaceBook, mails, SMS, twitter, etc), the necessary legislative mandate to make him a true representative of the constituency. Rarely does such an opportunity arise, and we just cannot afford to squander it away.
Ther are some 20 lakh graduates in the city, and let us all join in the effort to convey a strong message to the run-of-the-mill politicians that we can be a force to reckon with. The last time (in 2006), just some 20,000 graduates voted, and the winner got about half the number of votes. This time let us strive to have the numbers in tens of lakhs.
The procedure is simple. Firstly, you will have to register yourself as a voter (this has to be done afresh, even for those already registered on the regular voters' list), for which you will have to fill in the Form-18 (attached), submit the same at your ward office (alongwith attested copies of degree certificate and address proof), and get the acknowledgement (with the office seal) on the tear-away portion. Hopefully, your name should appear in the list when it is published, say a month before the elections. If your name is there, then, on the day of the elections, go and cast your vote at the designated booth - simple!
I registered myself over a month back (at the Koramangala ward office - some 50 M towards the "fine leg" region of 'Sukh Sagar'). Yesterday, I registered my wife too. And, it all went without a hitch. So, just do it!
Muralidhar Rao
PS: This is my individual opinion. "praja.in" is purely a debating platform, and has no opinion of its own.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Form-18.pdf | 67.69 KB |
| Mint-AshwinMahesh.pdf | 240.51 KB |
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Loved the disclaimer!
Would you start adding this disclaimer in every post of yours, esp, the ones on introduction of private bus operators in the town :)
-Srivatsava V
being not just politically correct
The disclaimer is applicable uniformly for all postings on PRAJA. I made a specific mention here since I am a member of the political party, LokSatta, under whose banner Dr Ashwin Mahesh is contesting the election.
Broken link
The link to "what Dr Jayaprakash Narayan has to say on Dr Ashwin Mahesh" is broken
Deepak Rajanna
link restored
@ deepakar - link restored. Thanks for the interest.
Mint on Ashwin Mahesh
After some haphazard volunteering, I have started thinking that maybe such efforts are best left to professionals. The trick is to vote in the right people who have the expertise, energy and time to do their job. Ergo my interest in Ashwin Mahesh. - - - When does a bystander become a stakeholder? So far, I have been a bystander in Mahesh’s candidacy. He has made the first cut. People I know and trust are supporting his candidacy. What Mahesh needs now are registered voters and the buzz of a winning team. He has his work cut out for him. Scratch that. We have our work cut out for us. I guess I just went from being a bystander to a stakeholder.
Shobha Narayan in the Mint. For the full text, click on the pdf document attached to the original post.
Justice Hegde endorses Dr Ashwin Mahesh
Of 20 lakh graduates in Bangalore, just 90,000 are registered voters in the MLC graduate constituency elections in which any graduate can contest. That's less than 5% of eligible voters in the hi-tech city. ABIDe member and activist Ashwin Mahesh, Justice Santosh N Hegde, Meenakshi Bharath and others in civil society want to change this turnout number and put up a good candidate.
On Thursday, Justice Hegde registered himself and his wife as voters and endorsed Ashwin Mahesh's candidature. - - - "Today, we have a candidate in Ashwin Mahesh. He is a candidate of integrity, stands for social justice, fights corruption, protects the environment and stands for transparency and honesty in thought and deed. I'd personally like to see him as a candidate to the graduates constituency. Now, we cannot say we don't have good candidates -- we should register and vote", he said.
For the full report in the ToI, click here.
I expect all of PRAJA members and their relatives, friends and associates have registered by now. Well, can you afford not to?