With just a day left for Election, ordinary citizens have
been voicing out their opinions on the changes the City needs. BSP is no
different. They are set to cast their vote and have even
taken time out to campaign for their candidates. They are, with a
mission to do more, have kept their personal commitments aside and
enteredcampaign . They have gone door-to-door interacting with people
and asking
them to vote.

The infrastructure is in dire need of attention.
With the Metro work going on, the roads are in a bad condition. More
than anything, the basic amenities are missing. BSP believes that nothing
is impossible. In a disciplined manner, the new government can meet the
expectations of the citizens.”

“I am definitely
going to vote this time with the hope of seeing a cleaner city, better
infrastructure, good public toilets and more than anything, less of
greedy Congress, BJP, KJP, JDS, BSR politicians. We need people who are focused and can bring about a
change in our State.” say the voters for change.

They
say“Voting is a
right that every citizen must exercise. As they say, every vote makes a
difference and if, we as citizens want to see change, we should vote.
There are obviously many changes we want to see. One of this being the
end of corruption, which we feel is the root cause of all problems. The
second major change would be increased safety for women. With the number
of rape cases taking place, something should be done about it. We will
not allow any candidate to buy our votes as we will record them in our
cell phones and produce to the authorities concerned.”

The voters
say “Voting is very important. No doubt, we can expect a good
governance from BSP’s new government and we can hope for certain
amendments
and better development.We hope people of Karnataka vote for BSP to form
a
single-party government as it will bring in some stability.We also hope
for all over changes.

Crony capitalism, plunder of resources and corruption
in
government are issues main opposition Bahujan Samaj Party talk about,
in Karnataka, where Congress,BJP, KJP,J DS, BSR faces elections
after
five chaotic years in power both in Center and State plus a weaker
than expected performance, perhaps with votes going to a
smaller regional party, would be a blow to Congress, where its leader is battling
perceptions he is a reluctant and ineffective leader.Congress also has to deal with public ire at a national level over
scandals and a slowing economy after nearly a decade in power. It has
suffered losses in other elections, including in Uttar Pradesh, the
country’s
largest state where the BSP is all out to grab the MASTER KEY through
its policy of Sarvajan Hithay Sarvajan Sukhay meaning welfare,happiness
and peace for the entire people.

And Karnataka just represents just 28 seats out of a maximum of 552 in the Lok Sabha.
Karnataka was supposed to be the gateway to the south but the gateway door now seems to be closing on.

Opinion Poll Vote share projection

Campaigning
for the May 5 Assembly polls in Karnataka ends tomorrow, capping a
bitter canvassing that saw national leaders of the BJP and Congress
making a strong pitch for people’s mandate in the high-stake elections.

Graft was the recurrent theme, with the Congress seeking to paint
the ruling BJP as a “champion of corruption”, and the latter hitting
right back on the party heading the UPA by highlighting the 2G and
Commonwealth Games scams.

Though BJP president Rajnath Singh, stalwart L K Advani and
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj addressed a number of
public meetings, it was Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi who clearly
stole the show for the party.

For the Congress, it was vice president Rahul Gandhi who turned
out to be the star campaigner. Karnataka is the first major state to go
to polls after he became number two in the party.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi also addressed public rallies in
Gulbarga and here to keep the momentum going for the party. Rahul
addressed three public meetings in the state yesterday.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh too undertook electioneering while
harping on ‘corruption’ under the BJP government and accusing it of
failure to utilise Central grants.

After a no holds barred, all-round attack on the Congress,
particularly targetting Rahul Gandhi, in a rally here last Sunday, Modi
addressed public meetings in Mangalore and Belgaum today in what
appeared to be a “final push” by the BJP to keep the spirits high.

Elections would be held to 223 Assembly seats, after the one in
Piriyapatna was postponed to May 28 following the death of the BJP
candidate.

Counting of votes will take place on May 8.

In the 2008 Assembly elections, the BJP secured 33.86 per cent of
votes but still managed to get 110 seats, compared to the Congress’
34.59 per cent which gave it only 80 seats. JDS, with 19.13 per cent,
was third with 28 seats, while six independents were also victorious

- See more at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/campaigning-ends-tomorrow-for-highstakes-karnataka-polls/1110623/#sthash.ideae8mR.dpuf

No symbol, no number, but he’s a candidate

Meer Layaq Hussain

TOPICS

It was to be his sixth attempt at a political career.
For 50-year-old Meer Layaq Hussain — a doctor who has contested six
Parliamentary elections to date and filed a nomination for the 2012
Presidential elections — filing nominations for his first shot at the
Assembly polls has been a harrowing experience.

After
being denied the opportunity to file his nomination, on account of
being late, his repeated appeals to the Election Commission (EC) fell on
deaf ears. So imagine his surprise when just three days before the
polls, he received a letter from the election office informing him that
he was indeed contesting in the election. The letter does not mention
either a symbol or a serial number; it merely informs him that he is a
contestant.

Turned away from the election office on
nomination day, Dr. Hussain complained thrice to the election office. “I
had reached at 2.30 p.m., the records will prove. I paid my deposit of
Rs. 10,000 and got a receipt for it. I filled out all my paperwork and
during the final stages, they simply told me that it was too late. I was
flabbergasted.”

Not one to be dissuaded easily, he
complained to the State Election Commission, and sent a telegram of the
complaint to the Karnataka Chief Justice. When he didn’t hear from
either of them, he sent another complaint to the EC on April 25 and then
on April 28. But there was no response. “Then when there is hardly a
day left for campaigning, I receive this letter informing me that I may
contest. What is the meaning of this? I have practically lost my
opportunity.”

The doctor still thinks he may have a
chance. However, without a symbol and a serial number, he is worried
candidates may not be able to find him on the voting machine.

EC
never responds to Open Source Code request of EVM, draping of BJP’s
NATION FLOWER LOTUS symbol and its leaders’ statues of the ruling party,
as done in UP Assembly elections nor frozen the NATIONAL FLOWER LOTUS
symbol alloted by EC to BJP. Nor the EC has draped the SACRED religious
symbol HAND and Congress leaders’ statues allotted by EC or frozen the
HAND symbol being used by astrologers and Islam for level playing
field.Your esteemed media may be pleased to take up the issue with
authorities concerned and publish this in your esteemed media in the
larger interest of democracy and a fair election.

Time available to National Parties on Regional Kendras/State Capital Kendras of Doordarshan/All India Radio

IN FRAY

Madiwala lake looks placid on a hot afternoon, even
though hyacinth and garbage seem to be overtaking it from one end and a
cluster of high-rise buildings are choking it from the other. Two aged
fishermen casting a net from a coracle in the lake’s midst look
anachronistic.

Urban assembly constituencies defy
definition and BTM Layout more so than most. It is a jumble of old and
new Bangalore, with dusty working class clusters, slums, sparkling upper
middle class enclaves and commercial establishments. Prefixes like
“Sandra”, “Palya” and “Mangala” are linguistic markers that hark back to
a different world.

Chances are that you will draw a
blank if you ask a random pick of people in BTM Layout area abutting the
lake what the three letters in the name of their locality stand for.
(Incidentally, the area was carved out of Byrasandra, Tavarekere and
Madiwala and so the name.)

Skyrocketing of real estate value in clusters like
Koramangala and BTM Layout has brought with it issues ranging from
land scams to perennial traffic woes.

At the other
end of the spectrum, people in clusters like Ejipura, Jakkasandra and
N.S. Palya grapple with issues of congested living spaces, drinking
water problems and the fear of their area too becoming “prime”,
resulting in them being pushed further away from the city.

Migrants
form a substantial part of the population in both these worlds that
live alongside each other but rarely meet except in the
employer-employee capacity. People from North and North-East are quite
visible both as white collar and blue collar workers, besides people
from other southern States, resulting in a colourful mix of languages
spoken and cuisines offered by hotels big and small.

The election scene is “dull” this
time, say residents in most areas.

IN FRAY

With sizable vote bank of SC/STs/ OBCs/ Minorities and poor upper castes
it is BSP with its policy of Sarvajan Hithay sarvajan Sukhay i.e.,
peace, welfare and happiness of the entire people will win to distribute
the wealth of the state equally among all sections of the society. For a
change and having had bitter experience in BJP, it must be natural for
the Lingayat community must become broad minded like US people who re
elected Obama as their President to support BSP instead of dividing their votes between BJP and KJP.

Please Vote for ELEPHANT of BSP candidate OMKAR KRISHNAJI

Mr. Marasandra Muniyappa, state president, BSP said that the people
who were supposed to be in jail are aspirants in the upcoming election.
He was referring to the latest report of Karnataka Election Watch which
claims that many candidates including of BJP and Congress were facing
criminal charges like murder, attempt to murder and kidnapping.

Mr. Muniyappa alleged that unlike BJP, Congress and JD(S) who
nominate their candidates on the basis of their wealth, SDPI-BSP is
choosing the candidates on their ability and their commitment towards
the society.

“Congress party’s secularism claim is merely on papers and BJP was
never secular,” he alleged and added that if Congress was secular, there
would be no Babri Masjid demolition in the country.

When asked about the Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Eshwarappa’s
defamatory speech in Shimoga he said, “He (Eshwarappa) is mad and an
educated man. The Election Commission should take strict action against
him.”

If the surface is scratched, one sees residents pour
their hearts out over indiscriminate chopping of trees, irregular water
supply where people have to pay Rs.600/tank of water available in
abundance which are owned by BJP and Congress leaders and uncleared
mounds of garbage, interrupted power supply to name a few.

From what used to be considered the outskirts of the city, the
constituency has slowly integrated itself into Bangalore, thanks to the
extension of the State capital well up to Whitefield.

Real estate has boomed, so has the population due to the presence of
Bagmane Tech Park, public sector undertakings (PSUs) such as Bharat
Earth Movers Limited (BEML) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), and
defence establishments such as Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO). Since it was carved out from Varthur constituency
in 2008, the once deserted areas are now choc-a-bloc with residential
buildings and layouts. Traffic has multiplied manifold.

However, old-timers are watching in horror as the environment has taken a
beating. First, fully mature trees on CMH Road and Indiranagar made way
for the ambitious Metro project. Now, trees are being hacked off to
widen Suranjandas Road — the link between Old Airport Road and Old
Madras Road.

Another grouse of the residents is the lack of redressal of the real
issues. Those living in less privileged areas will question
the priority of amenities provided.

In Anandapuram near Jeevan Bima Nagar, residents say
the water they get once in four days often brings misery as it is
sometimes mixed with sewage. 
Shouldn’t that be looked into first?” they ask.

People in G.M. Palya, point out to the uncleared garbage
mound on the one side and the overflowing drain on the other, nestled
between which they makes a living. “The stench is unbearable,” they said.

Populist steps?

BSP fighting election from this constituency reserved
for candidates from the Scheduled Castes say that there was a need
to look into the core issues. Trees were lost
in all the projects. Also, garbage disposal and traffic need
disciplining. There must be  plans  to revive the
Kaggadasapura Lake, create tree parks wherever possible, and build a
world-class diabetes hospital here,” it said. Door to door campaign was
undertaken in Sudhama nagar, Hanumanth nagar, Babasaheb colony, Murphy
town and are covering all the areas in Binnamangala, Benniganahalli,
Sarvagna nagar, CV Raman Nagar, Hoysala Nagar, New Tippa sandra, Jeevan
Bheema Nagar and Konenaagrahara. As people are fed up with BJP,
Congress, KJP, BSR which are all of the chips of the old coal and irn
mine blasts and vultures with the same weather flocking together to feed
on the dead bodies of poor farmers and if elected again they will feed
on the dead bodies of the poor in the urban slums as well.

VOTE for ELEPHANT of BSP candidate BT Srinivas and get real relief from all the above messes.

Shanti Nagar Assembly constituency is a perfect example
of the stark divide that exists in the city between the rich and the
poor. Apart from the most commercial pockets — M.G. Road and Brigade
Road; some of the areas where the city’s poor reside, such as parts of
Ejipura, Vannarpet, Agaram, also come under this constituency.

The
recent demolition of the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) shanty town
in Ejipura is likely to become the thorn in the path of Congress MLA  who is trying to return to the Vidhana Soudha.

Those who lived in the shanty town for more than 25 years, now lives
with their families in a small tents pitched on the footpath. “We are
homeless suddenly. With no place to go to, we have been staying on the
footpath since January this year. Though we all have voter’s identity
cards and ration cards, we will not vote until we get a roof over our
heads,” they said. They squarely blamed MLA for their pathetic
state. “They (MLA and Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike officials) did
not give us any notice to vacate our homes only because we are poor.
Nobody cares about people like us,” they lamented.

With
the elections just round the corner, they
claim that none of the candidates in the fray have come to the area
seeking votes. “Earlier, the candidates would come to the slum seeking
votes. The MLA had assured us of getting us houses in the complex that
is planned at the spot. We are not going to believe in their empty
promises any more. They are responsible for our homeless state,” they said  without mincing any words.

A little away
in Samata Nagar, residents complained about the lack of basic
facilities. They said that water scarcity was a
major problem. Added that garbage was also not being lifted
regularly. “The main roads are cleaned; but the cross roads hardly get
any attention,” they said.  “Sky is the limit
for the candidates’ promises. These promises will remain just promises.”

In
another pocket in Vannarpet where people from socio-economic
backgrounds reside, the lack of public toilets is a daily ordeal that
residents go through.They said that the public
toilets lack water connectivity and are hardly cleaned. “We have to use
the pay and use toilets that are around half-a-km away. The person
manning the toilet there grumbles if we go there and asks us to use the
toilet in our area,” they said.

Secretary and members of the Shanti Nagar Residents Welfare Association, said that
prevention of encroachment of civic amenity sites should be the priority
of the MLA. “There are rumours that some party workers are collecting
rent from the hutments that have come up on the CA sites. The BDA must
reclaim these sites,” they said. Garbage processing was
another concern. “The BBMP had given the association land to start a
local composting unit thrice. But we were not allowed to set it up. If
we had been allowed to set it up, garbage problem could have been
resolved easily,” they said.

With a sizeable population comprising Tamils, those
belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and minorities,
caste politics will come into play in support of BSP.

Twenty Four SDPI candidates are in fray for Karnataka assembly election

Mangalore: Social Democratic Party of India, Karnataka fielded 24
candidates across the state for upcoming assembly election, will be
held on 5th Mays 2013.

Karnataka state president of the party Abdul Majeed Kodlipete is contesting election from Narasimha Raja assembly, Mysore.

It is to be noted that SDPI and BSP have tied-up and alliance between the parties has been agreed upon statewide.

It has just been 4 years and that the party SDPI has been involved in political activism in 23

states across the nation. The candidates being fielded by the party for the upcoming assembly

election are educated with social service background, clean character and absolutely free from

corruption. SDPI has achieved a thriving success in the Local Body Election held in the last

month. Party Leaders opine that most of the candidates would be successful. The complete list

of candidates being fielded in different constituencies across Karnataka for the said election has

been approved by the party’s National President A. Sayeed.

SDPI CANDIDATE LIST

1 Smt. Hemalata, MBA, Pulakeshi Nagar

2 Abdul Majeed, Narasimharaja

3 Moulana Usman Baig, Chamrajpet

4 Dr. Mehboob Sharieff, Sarwagna Nagar

5 Syed Fakhruddin, Hebbal Assembly

6 Mujahid Pasha, Chickpet

7 Dr. Mohammed, Bijapur Assembly

8 Prof. Shabbir Mustafa, Chamraja

9 Abdul Hakeem, Kapu Assembly

10 Abdul Jaleel, Mangalore South

11 Adv Abdul Majeed, Bantwal Assembly

12 Abubaker Kulai, Mangalore North

13 Akram Hassan, Mangalore

14 Ismail Engineer, Modibideri

15 Kusappa Sulliya, Assembly

16 K.A Siddiq, Puttur Assembly

17 Sadiq Jameel, Tumkur City

18 K B Basheer, Shimoga

19 Sufi Ibrahim, Hassan

20 Abdul Raheem, Gulbarga North

21 Usman, Virajpet

22 Fairoz Ali khan, Ramnagaram

23 Kiran Kumar, Hunsur

24 Mohammed Tahir, Mandya

More
than 1,200 families were evicted from EWS quarters spread across
more than 15 acres at Ejipura in January this year to facilitate he BBMP
take up construction of a residential complex and a mall with a private
company. Several forced evacuees still live on footpaths in the
vicinity of the erstwhile shanty town.Many parts of the City did not
have basic amenities.There are many areas without basic necessities.

Poor access to state healthcare and drinking water are the two major woes of the constituency

Starting from Jalahalli in northwest Bangalore, this constituency
stretches all the way down to Rajarajeshwarinagar in the southwest, a
distance of about 22 km. And, given its expanse, the issues and problems
being faced by citizens here are many.

Poverty

Lakshmidevinagar
and Laggere remain highly underdeveloped. Other wards mainly comprise
revenue layouts, thereby witnessing haphazard development. The
sub-arterial and small roads are in a shambles, with Cauvery water
remaining elusive in many areas.

Healthcare access

Healthcare is a casualty here as most residents are from poor and
lower middle class families.There are any number of private hospitals
but very few can afford them. People have to go all the way either to
Victoria or K.C. General
Hospital, 15 km away, to access government healthcare. The
administrators have been indifferent on this issue,

Few BMTC buses are available towards Nagarabhavi, Chandra Layout,
Yelahanka and so on. Journey by bus to these areas takes four times as
long as by private vehicles.

Another grouse is lack of public spaces such as libraries and
playgrounds. 
Rajarajeshwarinagar ward is gradually being commercialised on the lines of
Basavanagudi. As a result, roads are getting congested.

Civic infrastructure

Upkeep of roads and clearing of garbage have been
casualties in Kottigepalya locality. Unscientific and unplanned
development should be blamed for the mess. 

With a major portion of the constituency skirting the polluted Vrishabhavati banks, clean underground water is scarce.

With private developers sparing not an inch of land on the river bank,
residents are compelled to constantly inhale the stench from the dead
river even as promises by the government to develop it.

Central Relief Centre (commonly known as Beggars’ Colony)

This constituency is the gateway to the heart of Bangalore from Mysore.
In other words, it’s an area with incessant traffic. Motoring out of
Rajajinagar through Okalipuram during peak hours is a torture. Although
the Okalipuram grade separator has helped somewhat, the narrow passage
near Khodays’ Circle and the second gate of the City Railway Station is a
major bottleneck.

The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike and Indian Railways had proposed
widening the road and constructing a signal-free stretch to clear this
block, but the proposal remains only on paper.

Big battle

 
Although the
area MLA was the BWSSB Minister, he has done nothing to solve the
problem. Most do not have ration cards and interior roads have not been
asphalted for years. People want a performing representative and the BSP
is the only choice.

A cosmopolitan residential locality, Rajajinagar has witnessed a boom in
commercial activities in recent years. Apart from a growing business
for owners of wedding halls, this constituency is home to several
educational institutions.

Sandwiched between the dense residential pockets of Basaveshwaranagar,
Malleswaram, Mahalakshmi Layout, Vijayanagar and Govindrajnagar,
Rajajinagar contains within it a well-known industrial estate.

Need for reservoir

Water supply was a
perennial problem in the constituency despite MLA having
the portfolio of Minister for Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board
(BWSSB). “What Rajajinagar needs is a ground-level reservoir (GLR) to
ensure adequate storage and proper distribution. None has realised
this.

No. of voters: 2,20,924

VOTE for ELEPHANT of BSP candidate ABDUL RAZACK KHAN and get real relief from all the above messes.

Old issues remain unaddressed

Jayanagar, a planned extension formed in 1948, was once known for its
wide roads, well-laid footpaths and tree-lined boulevards.

Jayanagar Assembly constituency was carved out of Basavanagudi Assembly
constituency in 1978. Over the years, its wide roads, footpaths,
boulevards and countless trees have been sacrificed in the name of
“development”.

Today, the roads and footpaths of Jayanagar are narrow and some stretches have been encroached by vendors and traders.

Footpaths also double as parking spots and the authorities concerned don’t seem a bit concerned about it.

Those garbage heaps

Another problem is ineffective garbage clearance. There are many spots where
garbage is piled up all the time.

“The BBMP office is close by, but officials don’t seem to be bothered to clear the black spots.”

And the traffic!

Other pet peeve is the traffic. With the increase in the number of
vehicles on the roads,  the traffic often moves at a snail’s
pace. “With poor pedestrian infrastructure, there is no safety for people.
Inadequate footpaths and bad streetlights pose a threat. Pedestrians are
forced to walk on the roads braving the traffic.”

Haphazard parking

With the lack of parking space, motorists often park haphazardly in
front of the houses in the bylanes and crossroads. “Sometimes, residents
cannot take out their own vehicles, what with other vehicles parked right
outside the gate.”

Crossing the roads is tough for senior citizens and young children.

“There are high medians between the Namma Metro piers on the stretch
between South End Circle and Inner Ring Road. The boulevard on that
stretch has been destroyed by the metro construction. It was earlier a
delight for walkers. The authorities must restore the boulevard.”

Cosmopolitan

The constituency, which is very cosmopolitan, has seven wards and a voter strength of 1.7 lakh.

VOTE for ELEPHANT of BSP candidate MRS. SHASHIKALA and get real relief from all the above messes.

Anjali Kumari, 23, is one of the thousands of women
who work in the informal garment industry in Bomanahalli area. The
Class 12 educated, resident of Kudlu Gate area, walks to work every day
and has never been late for her 9 am to 5 pm shift. But, of late,
security is a big concern, especially with the increasing number of rape
cases. “I have to walk about two kilometers back home. As most of the
employees of the garment manufacturing industry are women, we generally
head to and fro from work in groups,” she says. “Atleast they
(government) could increase the security in this area. They make a lot
of promises, but never implement them. What is the use for voting then,
as all candidates share the same mentality. They will say something
during campaigning but will forget that once elected,” she added.

It is a breeding ground for mosquitoes and flies that
often causes skin rashes, allergies and wheezing amongst its residents.
Mandur village is less than kilometre away from the landfill, where the
city’s garbage is dumped. It is part of Mahadevapura constituency, which
is ironically represented in the Assembly by none other than the
State’s Health Minister.

 “Over the past few years, we have been living such a terrible life. All
our negotiations with the government have failed and they continue to
dump garbage in the landfill. We are tired of the government’s empty
promises.”

The government promised to control the spread of diseases and
stench by spraying chemicals at the landfill site.  Now, it is not very
regularly done. Why should we vote?

Apart from Mandur, people in other parts of
the constituencies such as Garudacharpalya, Hoodi and Hagadur suffer
from drinking water scarcity and spend close to Rs. 1,000 a month on
private water tankers. The constituency which is reserved for Scheduled
Castes candidate is home to people from diverse economic backgrounds as gated communities
stand beside small and shanty areas.

A large number of voters remained unaware of the candidates.

The
number of voters in the constituency has increased from 2.75 lakh in
2008 to 3.68 lakh in 2013 as the voter turn out in Mahadevapura in
2008 stood at 53.17 per cent.

BJP candidate  is facing a Lokayukta probe as he is accused of favouring DLF
for allegedly showing official favours to real estate firms by
permitting violation of the Revised Master Plan (RMP) to facilitate
illegal constructions.

VOTE for ELEPHANT of BSP candidate N.VENKATESH and get real relief from all the above messes.

VOTE for ELEPHANT of BSP candidate VENKATESH.P and get real relief from all the messes.

Males - 94,237; Females - 91,032; Others - 12

In the fray 

INDIAN SARKAR…….

ELECTORATE

1.95 lakh voters

Chickballapur district has 9,01,960 voters

Please vote for ELEPHANT of BSP candidate M SOMASHEKAR

There are 9,01,960 voters in five Assembly
constituencies in Chickballapur district for the May 5 elections. The
district administration is taking steps to ensure that the elections are
free and fair and also peaceful. It has set up 1,169 booths in the
district.

Various activities have been taken up
under the Systematic Voters Electoral Education Participation (SVEEP) to
educate voters on the role of elections in a democracy and to encourage
them to exercise their right to vote to make the system vibrant.

According to Deputy Commissioner and District Electoral Officer V. Shankar, among the voters there are 4,45,542 women.

New voters

As many as 39,720 persons enrolled their names from January 16 to April 7, 2013 in the district, Mr. Shankar added.

A notable feature is that the number of voters in Chickballapur constituency is fewer than in all other segments.

The
segment-wise break-up of the voter number is: Gowribidanur 1,86,656
(92,224 women); Bagepalli 1,75,847 (87,285 women); Chickballapur
1,76,229 (86,513 women); Sidlaghatta 1,76,854 (87,290 women) and
Chintamani 1,86,374 (92,230 women).

As many as 302 polling booths have been identified as sensitive and 217 as hypersensitive booths.

Seminars,
streetplays, exhibitions through mobile vehicles, administering the
oath to voters and such other activities are being taken up as per the
directions of the Election Commission of India, Mr. Shankar said.

Creating awareness among young voters is one of the major activities under SVEEP, he added.

“There is a
huge chance for betterment through industrialization. Unfortunately, our
leader couldn’t see any chances, or we would have competed with
Ramanagaram.”

Pointing to potholed roads, he said the district was
allocated Rs 180 crore but the elected representatives did nothing.

The roads are symbolic of the constituency. “Forget roads. Just enter
residential localities which are close to the highway. They are in a
pathetic condition,”he say. “We want a leader who resides in
Channapatna and mingles with everyone.”

Key issues

Bad infrastructure: People compare Ramanagaram with Channapatna and
feel dejected. “Ramanagaram became a district and will emerge as a
modern town in future. What our leaders have done to us is a sin.
There’s no development at all.” “It’s a political game of the
Deve Gowda family, which is depriving Channapatna of development.”

Electorate

Men: 97,767

Women: 1,00,980

Population 1.5 lakh

Madiwala lake looks placid on a hot afternoon, even
though hyacinth and garbage seem to be overtaking it from one end and a
cluster of high-rise buildings are choking it from the other. Two aged
fishermen casting a net from a coracle in the lake’s midst look
anachronistic.

Urban assembly constituencies defy
definition and BTM Layout more so than most. It is a jumble of old and
new Bangalore, with dusty working class clusters, slums, sparkling upper
middle class enclaves and commercial establishments. Prefixes like
“Sandra”, “Palya” and “Mangala” are linguistic markers that hark back to
a different world.

Chances are that you will draw a
blank if you ask a random pick of people in BTM Layout area abutting the
lake what the three letters in the name of their locality stand for.
(Incidentally, the area was carved out of Byrasandra, Tavarekere and
Madiwala and so the name.)

Skyrocketing of real estate value in clusters like
Koramangala and BTM Layout has brought with it issues ranging from
land scams to perennial traffic woes.

At the other
end of the spectrum, people in clusters like Ejipura, Jakkasandra and
N.S. Palya grapple with issues of congested living spaces, drinking
water problems and the fear of their area too becoming “prime”,
resulting in them being pushed further away from the city.

Migrants
form a substantial part of the population in both these worlds that
live alongside each other but rarely meet except in the
employer-employee capacity. People from North and North-East are quite
visible both as white collar and blue collar workers, besides people
from other southern States, resulting in a colourful mix of languages
spoken and cuisines offered by hotels big and small.

The election scene is “dull” this
time, say residents in most areas.

‘Bahujan’ concept took root in Bidar in 1950

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati will address
an election rally in Humnabad on April 27, just after her campaign in
Jewargi in Gulbarga. The only other stop in Karnataka is Chikkodi in
Belgaum.

There is a historical reason why the
political leader chooses Bidar as an important destination for her
campaign. After all, the first-ever BSP victory in south India was from
Bidar in 1994.

Bidar, Bahujan link

Bidar
has the distinction of being one of the few places where there has been
an alliance between voters of Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes,
backward classes and minorities (collectively referred to as “Bahujan”
by the party) not seen in other districts.

This is
attributed to the legacy of thinkers like B. Shamsundar who spoke of a
“Bahujan” alliance way back in the 1950s. “Long before BSP founder
Kanshi Ram came up with the strategy of political unity of SC/ST, Other
Backward Castes and minorities, Mr. Shamsundar applied it successfully
in the erstwhile Nizam State,’’ said Vaijanath Suryavanshi, BSP State
general secretary.

Back in 1957, Mr. Shamsundar
became one of the two members to be elected from the dual-member
Assembly constituency in the second general election. The Independent
member got 22.04 per cent votes and won with a margin of 2,274 votes.

“Mr.
Shamsundar postulated that 85 per cent of the Indian population was
deprived and attaining political power was the only route to
emancipation. This, he said, had to be obtained only by forging unity of
these groups. He left a lasting influence on the erstwhile Nizam State
that got divided into Maharashtra, Andhra and Karnataka,’’ Mr.
Suryavanshi said.

Mr. Shamsundar served as a member of the legislative Assemblies in Hyderabad and Mysore States.

He founded institutions like Bhim Sena and All India Federal Association of Minorities.

He
was elected the chairperson of the minorities and backward classes
convention in Lucknow in 1968. He gave a call for “action against Hindu
right-wing oppression” of the untouchables and minorities. His book
They Burn
is considered among the earliest works on SC/ST political ideology.

Later,
Syed Zulfikar Hashmi of the BSP won the Bidar seat in 1994, making him
the first BSP MLA in South India. “Mr. Kanshi Ram arrived from Delhi to
campaign for me,” recalls Mr. Hashmi. He won in 1994, 1999 and 2004, but
lost in 2008.

Bidar has a high density of SC/ST and
minority community population, 22 per cent as per the 2001 census.
Bidar and Gulbarga are among the 90 districts with high minority
population.

Union government’s multi-sectoral
development plan estimates the minority population in Bidar district at
20 per cent, higher than the State average of 12 per cent.