Election awareness drives sweep Bidar off its feet

It was a day of Systematic Voter Education for Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programmes in Bidar.

It started with a signature campaign in areas with low polling percentage. Voters were asked to sign a pledge that they would not vote for any party or candidate against considerations or under fear.

Rajeev Jain, awareness observer from the Election Commission of India inaugurated the campaign by signing the pledge. He said that the polling time was extended by an hour in the evening and urged voters to make use of it.

Deputy Commissioner P.C. Jaffer said the SVEEP programme was being carried out in various innovative ways. Teams of folk artists have staged street plays in nearly half the villages in the district. Senior officials have spoken in special meetings in various colleges. In some colleges, first time voters were given application forms to add their names in the electoral rolls.

“We also organised a mock polling session in Lingaraj Appa engineering college. We have been organising brainstorming sessions for niche groups like government employees, non government organisations, doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers and women’s groups. Self Help Group members and Anganwadi workers did a door-to-door campaign tying rakhis to the male members of the families and inviting them to come out on April 17 and vote. Rangoli and painting competitions were organised for women and children,” he said.

Decision-making

Mr. Jain addressed a meeting of women’s groups later. He said women were adept in handling domestic affairs as they participated in the decision-making of the house. “It is time you come out in large numbers and take part in the decision making process in the country,” he said.

Later, at a meeting of medical officers, Mr. Jain said doctors in Gulbarga had started using a seal that spoke of the importance of polling. He hoped the polling percentage would cross 80 in Bidar where the last Lok Sabha election saw only around 53 per cent voting.

Mr. Jain and other senior officers also attended a convention of physically challenged persons at Rang Mandir. He asked them to be ambassadors of free and fair polling in the district. “There are 40,000 physically challenged persons in the district. Each one of them should vote and motivate others to do so,” he said.

Rathna Kalamdani, Deputy Director of Women and Child Welfare, Bansilal Pawar, Deputy Director of Disabled Welfare and others were present.

More:http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/election-awareness-drives-sweep-bidar-off-its-feet/article5903715.ece

Kumaraswamy to campaign for Kashempur in Bidar today.

H.D. Kumaraswamy, the former Chief Minister and JD(S) leader, will campaign for Bandeppa Kashempur, party nominee, in Bidar on April 11.

The rally would be held at Ganesh Maidan at 5.30 p.m. on Friday, JD(S) district president Naseemoddin Patel told presspersons here on Wednesday.

MLA Mallikarjun Khuba said Congress candidate for the Lok Sabha polls N. Dharam Singh had failed to carry out his duties as an MP. It was time for change and Mr. Kashempur would defeat Mr. Singh this time, he said.

more:http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/kumaraswamy-to-campaign-for-kashempur-in-bidar-today/article5899072.ece

Development is on the backburner in Bidar

Development does not seem to be the issue in the Lok Sabha elections at least in Bidar. Personality of the leaders, their loyal followers and caste dynamics seem to dominate poll-related discussions.

“That is because the Indian democracy is not merit based. Electoral choices are mostly based on caste affiliations,” says Vithaldas Pyage, a Dalit ideologue

If there was a roll of honour for backwardness, Bidar would figure among the top districts. It has high levels of infant and maternal mortality, malnutrition among children is high, and accessibility to qualified doctors is low and costly. Female literacy, especially among disadvantaged sections, is abysmally low. Job creation rate is low as industrial investment is negligible.

Farmers unhappy

According to the 2011 census, 89 per cent of the population depends on agriculture for sustenance. Farmers, however, are not happy.

There is no organised market for agriculture or horticulture produce. The agriculture produce marketing committee market yards have failed to implement the government order on using electronic scales. They still use mechanical scales.

The Raitha Sante markets largely remain non-functional. Pricing of farm produce is hardly in favour of the farmer. Farmer associations routinely complain that sugar factories don’t pay remunerative prices for sugarcane. Successive governments have neglected irrigation. No government has come up with a plan to utilise the 24 tmcft of water of the Godavari basin allotted to Bidar under the second Bachawat award.

Most parties are focusing on the personality of their leaders.

The BJP campaign revolves round its Prime Ministerial aspirant Narendra Modi. JD(S) workers speak of the achievements of party leaders H.D. Deve Gowda, H.D. Kumaraswamy and the nominee Bandeppa Kashempur, former agriculture minister. Congress workers speak of the “large-hearted” nature of their leader N. Dharam Singh. Middle level leaders and workers have started defecting from one party to another, citing reasons of loyalty to various leaders.

Like elsewhere in this country, caste seems to play a big role. Mr. Singh is a Rajput, Mr. Kashempur is a Kuruba, and AAP’s Chandrakanth Kulkarni is a Brahmin. BJP’s Bhagwanth Khuba is a member of the influential Lingayat community.

However, development is not at the centre of the poll campaign. It seems to be a talking point in meetings and rallies, at best.

“Campaign speeches are hypocritical. Leaders promise to develop the constituency, criticise their opponents for failing to bring in prosperity. But once the speech is over, they sit with community leaders and discuss nothing but ways in which to capture votes of various caste groups,” says Gandharva Sena, writer.

More:http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/development-is-on-the-backburner-in-bidar/article5881140.ece