Will Karnataka's urban dwellers turn out in large numbers to decide the state's fate this coming Sunday? Or will they act as bystanders as the state votes for a new government? Subramaniam Vincent, co-founder and editor, Citizen Matters, joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on the issue.
Q. Money power can not be done away, since greed can not be done away. Will Kiran Majumdar Shaw's suggestion of Public funding of election be ever acceptable to the politicians? Asked by: sundar1950in
A. Good question Sundar. Public funding does work in other countries, and it can be tried here. However, it will only work if the proportion of black money is very less or zero. White money can be tracked. If black is dominant, then candidates will take public funding on the left hand and black money on the right hand. In principle I like Kiran's suggestion, but implementation is hard! Greed cannot be done away with, yes, but can be regulated with more teeth to anti-corruption authorities and regulators.
Q. The casting vote of by Urbanites will remain as minimal as ever. Why is this apathy? Asked by: sundar1950in
A. I'm not sure we can issue a blank statement on apathy. There are more and more people interested in voting and this election is likely to be a litmus test for urban voters in the state and especially Bangalore. Also remember that in 2010 the election commission had very bloated voter rolls with lakhs of dead entries. This depressed the turnout figure and citizen matters exposed it.
Q. If voter turnout is more will it help BJP? Asked by: salmaan
A. Good question Salmaan. It depends on what factor drives the high turnout. In the constituencies with new and reformist campaigners, if they bring new voters to the polls - people who never voted before - it may not impacts as much. But in some cases BJP will lose vote share from prevailing resentment overall too.
Q. Do you think Yeddyurappa's KJP could give tough fight to BJP and Congress? Asked by: Gowri
A. This is the million rupee question no one is sure about. He is quite strong in his area itself, and not very strong in Bangalore. He is more likely to give a tough fight to the BJP in specific constituencies because of the party split, cadre, rank and file split, etc.
Q. Sunday a holiday.Good to watch IPL matches.Too hot to move out in the day.Candidates debarred to provide conveyance.What is your take on likely percentage of voting? Asked by: sundar1950in
A. I am hoping it will be get into the mid 50s to 60s at least Sundar. IPL matches are usually in the afternoons to nights. It is best that people who don't want to stand in long queues to go to vote early in the morning! My neighbours and I in northeast Bangalore are going to vote very early. We want to be at the booth by 645 /7am!
Q. The recent coalgate will bury the mines and help BJP? Asked by: sundar1950in
A. I think people have scene scam after scam come in Karnataka from the BJP side and like from New Delhi on the Congress side. MLA voting is more on local issues. When I ask around, people who feel a sitting MLA has done good local work (regardless of party) are saying they will vote for him or her anyway. There is so much corruption across the board that one scam alone is not going to tilt the scales in anyway, is my sense right now.
Q. What will get all political parties to include truly, institutionalized participative governance on their agenda? Asked by: zenx
A. This an important question, and I am glad you ask it. The answer depends on who you ask :). Those familiar with politics say that because people do not get out on the streets and demand participative governance (i.e. law changed to accommodate residents associations into local decision making), parties are not going to respond. Parties themselves do not have the vision or leadership to act deeply on this, even though most top leaders understand the need. Changing this may come in many ways - hard to predict. For e.g. it is the High Court that finally forced ward committees in the city Did you know that the Area Sabha bill was passed the governor in 2011 and still not implemented. There needs to be a lot of public pressure for this to happen. The kind that Santosh Hegde got when he offered to resign.
Q. I found out about citizen matters just a month ago, it has helped me tremendously to understand my MLA and my constituency and also to decide on whom to vote. Thanks you very much. How can we make data about each constituency more transparent and indepth? how can we "citizens" help? what is our responsibility? Asked by: Deepak C B
A. Good thoughts Deepak. Thank you for the kind words about Citizen Matters. Meera K, Shree D N and the rest of the team have worked overtime for days together to put together as in depth an analysis as possible to help voters decide for Bangalore. How can we make data about each constituency more transparent and indepth? A: There are several organisations in India now that have become experts in data gathering from government. Bangalore itself leads the way here. ADR is doing it for elections. Daksh and India governs are doing it for MLA constituencies. Citizen Matters has collaborated most of the time. What is needed now is a running website per constituency between 2013 May and the next assembly polls to track what the MLAs (winners in this weekends polls) are doing continuously. This is not impossible if data savvy organisations come together how can we "citizens" help? what is our responsibility? Engage. Never disengage. We need to be vigilant. Attend public meetings with corporators and MLAs. Ask questions. Be on lake improvement committees, waste segratation groups, get involved in some way or other in the neighbourhood and link that to the political system. When politicians see that people are vigilant engaging, it changes the game.
Q. I think BJP should be given more chance as they had taken a strong decision to remove yeddy. What is your say Asked by: salmaan
A. I don't think voters can decide this way Salmaan. The reality is this. Each constituency is different. If voters find the candidates there and analyse them, they will find at least a strong new promising candidate or an existing politician who has done work for the people and hence needs support. Yeddy's removal alone will not be an impacting factor. I talked with some low income folks in my area of Bangalore. They say the sitting MLA did somethings for them, so we'll vote for that person. They feel let down by the previous party that was in power. Perceptions are very local in many places.
Q. Is there an option to 'not vote'? Will Form 49-O be available at polling booths? Asked by: Shefali
A. Shefali, 49-O is a rule. it is not form. If you want do this, you need to ask for form 17A from the presiding officer in the booth when you turn comes. Read this article for all the details. http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/5190--how-to-exercise-right-of-not-voting However, please note: I do not endorse using 49-0, even though the cyncism of politics turns many us off. Here is why: 49-O is not implemented completely in our country. It only works to put a null-vote like this if the election authorities count all the null vote and recall the election if the total number of such votes exceeds the winner's tally or some such logic. However, we do not do that in India. So it's sort of dummy rule we can use to vent or to ensure no one else votes in our place. I would still recommend you look at the candidates once again. This FAQ on voting will also be helpful for you! http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/5243-karnataka-elections-may-5---get-ready-to-vote-in-bengaluru
Q. Will Modi speeches make any difference? Asked by: pawan
A. I know this question was going to come Pawan. Personally, I do not worry about this. I'd like candidates to be selected on their merits and their party's past record. Yes Modi's visit did lift up some sentiment in a party that is having hard time in the state. However, if you watched the Survarna News poll summary last night, even if you average all the polls together, it still shows BJP not winning anything like last time. It may have helped the BJP to engage with Modi earlier here. But that's another story.
Q. How can we track or keep a tab on our MLA? TV/print media do not cover each and every constituency. It would be really good if we know "whats going on" with our MLA and his work. Asked by: Deepak C B
A. The simpler way to do this is get the residents associations in the region to meet the MLA (along with corporators of the wards) at least once every quarter. In the meetings have a detailed sharing. In Bangalore for sure there are now federations of RWAs forming. These groups can set the agenda and get a report from the MLA before the meeting, get other data at the ward level on public spending and then meet the MLA. Inform the media after that and see what happens. Media are looking for good stories. During the campaigning now, we have asked several candidates on whether they will meeting citizens monthly or quarterly etc. Usual answer is yes. So we have to hold them to it!
Q. Thanks for answering that. the choice is between the corrupt and the more corrupt. when the profiles of the candidates proudly proclaim their misdeeds - the lokayukta inquiries, IPC charges...how does one choose? :( Asked by: Shefali
A. This is hard I know. It is true that many are corrupt. But there are also candidates who are in corrupted parties and want support to change things. Have you tried to talk to any candidates directly when they came to your area? Also, look for whether anyone you know well and can trust is making an endorsement.
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