BENGALURU: Instead of waiting for candidates to campaign in their areas for the upcoming elections, eager voters are organising their meetings with citizens to give them a platform to talk about their vision if voted into power. They hope the interactions will give people an opportunity to ask the candidates about their plans for resolving various issues.
“We invited three candidates from Bengaluru Central constituency on Saturday to understand their priorities. We want to know how they will address the issues of zoning regulations, transportation and pollution. The purpose is an informed choice for voters,” said Sneha Nandihal, a member of I change Indiranagar, an umbrella organisation of eight Resident Welfare Associations.
Diana Barucha, also a resident of the area, said, “We do not get to see politicians after elections. This is the best time to catch them and put forth our issues. The commercialisation of residential areas is a big struggle. We also want to know how they plan to address water shortage and crime rates.”
Residents of Prestige Shantineketan and Force GW Federation of RWAs also organised a meet with candidates, which included an open house session, on Sunday.
“Residents of Mahadevapura, ITPL and Whitefield want information and answers from the contestants about how they plan to address problems like air pollution, traffic and contamination of Bellandur and Varthur lakes,” Veerendra Mishra, a resident of Prestige Shantineketan apartments, said. “We also want to know about their out-of-the-box plans to improve the constituency overall,” Mishra added.
Many other residents’ associations are trying to get dates from the candidates in their constituencies. Abdul Aleem, president of Kanakapura Road Apartments Movement of Change, said, “We are still trying to fix a date next week with candidates from Bengaluru South and Bengaluru Rural constituencies. We have around 6,000 members in our area that fall under both these constituencies.”