BANGALORE: In another measure that explores the means of getting the urban voter actively engaged in the election process (BBMP polls in the present case) the concept of block votes is being worked upon by the citizens group working under the banner Smartvote.
Block voting is largely about a pre-election exercise of identifying common issues and choosing a common candidate.
The campaign group has chosen ward 151 (Koramangala) for their case highlight.
And the interesting listing in their itinerary is the ‘candidates’ debate’ on February 14 — exactly a week before the BBMP polls.
The voters will get to hear the aspirants debate the issues that impact their daily life.
Smartvote co-founder Prithvi Reddy explained that as gathered from their work previously during Assembly and Parliamentary elections ‘lack of impactful issues’ and ‘poor quality’ of candidates were among the reasons why educated voters did not turn up at the polling booths.
The block votes campaign will tackle both these issues, he observed.
The action plan is complete with the preparation of a ward manifesto stating what the voters expect from their candidate and also an informal poll before the actual elections.
Most importantly, Smartvote seeks to create awareness regarding the role of the BBMP and a corporator and the importance of voting in local body elections.
For a recall value to the voter, in its campaign material Smartvote also lists out some of the obligatory and discretionary functions of the BBMP.