ELECTIONS

Here's an email that came in with tips, on how to register for Voter ID, on the Hasiru Usiru egroup, and my responses, comments and suggestions are in blue:The 15th Lok Sabha election is round the corner and it is our duty to go out and vote. The polling will be held on 23rd April in Bangalore. If you have not registered to vote yet, please do so now. I totally agree with this. I had an Election Commissioner Voter ID card from 1992. I could not find the card number on the net or on physical lists anywhere. And…

  I have my old Election Identity card, but it was issued a long time back, and I cannot find any trace of it online at all. So I went.yesterday (Monday) to the BBMP office in J P Nagar 2nd Phase, showed the card, and asked the guy there what to do. He smiled (felt rather strangely) and said, "You have to go to Jayanagar 4th Block and get this card deleted and bring us back a stamped certificate to that effect."  This was quite irritating. Why cannot the system do the change without making me run around from one office to…

  I have my old Election Identity card, but it was issued a long time back, and I cannot find any trace of it online at all. So I went.yesterday (Monday) to the BBMP office in J P Nagar 2nd Phase, showed the card, and asked the guy there what to do. He smiled (felt rather strangely) and said, "You have to go to Jayanagar 4th Block and get this card deleted and bring us back a stamped certificate to that effect."  This was quite irritating. Why cannot the system do the change without making me run around from one office to…

While high profile, high powered summits on urban infrastructure development are hogging media headlines, a more low-key process taking place on the ground holds out hope for the beleaguered residents of one corner of the city. We citizens know all about politicians who promise the earth and the sky while canvassing for votes and are then seen and heard from again only on the eve of the next elections. But residents of Koramangala and surrounding areas have been pleasantly surprised to find their elected representative proving to be an exception to this rule - at least for now. Last Saturday…

While high profile, high powered summits on urban infrastructure development are hogging media headlines, a more low-key process taking place on the ground holds out hope for the beleaguered residents of one corner of the city. We citizens know all about politicians who promise the earth and the sky while canvassing for votes and are then seen and heard from again only on the eve of the next elections. But residents of Koramangala and surrounding areas have been pleasantly surprised to find their elected representative proving to be an exception to this rule - at least for now. Last Saturday…

The spouse of a politician standing for election from one of several constituencies in Bangalore visited our home today to persuade us to vote for her partner. The entourage of about ten or twelve people brought with them not only the customary leaflet requesting us to cast our "valuable votes" in favour of their candidate but also a glossy, colourful, 20-page booklet in Kannada and English. The brochure, titled "My vision for the ... constituency," presented "an overview of the developmental activities" undertaken by the person concerned in the constituency he had earlier represented. "Let works speak rather than words," said…

The spouse of a politician standing for election from one of several constituencies in Bangalore visited our home today to persuade us to vote for her partner. The entourage of about ten or twelve people brought with them not only the customary leaflet requesting us to cast our "valuable votes" in favour of their candidate but also a glossy, colourful, 20-page booklet in Kannada and English. The brochure, titled "My vision for the ... constituency," presented "an overview of the developmental activities" undertaken by the person concerned in the constituency he had earlier represented. "Let works speak rather than words," said…

Now that people have sorted out voter roll/EPIC card issues (or given up on the same), the next thing to attend to is the candidates themselves. Campaigns are on full swing; But with the election commission laying down strict guidelines for the candidates, citizens are not inflicted with the usual din. However we still need to do the due diligence on who the candidate are in our constituency, whom do we vote for and on what basis? This is the information I found in the online space. From the EC's website: Election commission site (http://search.eci.gov.in/ae%5f2008e) provides info on- Party wise…

Now that people have sorted out voter roll/EPIC card issues (or given up on the same), the next thing to attend to is the candidates themselves. Campaigns are on full swing; But with the election commission laying down strict guidelines for the candidates, citizens are not inflicted with the usual din. However we still need to do the due diligence on who the candidate are in our constituency, whom do we vote for and on what basis? This is the information I found in the online space. From the EC's website: Election commission site (http://search.eci.gov.in/ae%5f2008e) provides info on- Party wise…