HT Sangliana, the 67-year-old saffron renegade, contests on Congress ticket from Bangalore Central constituency with 18 lakh voters.
He had an unblemished record as an upright police officer who brought in many novel methods to make policing better for Bangalore.
A second-generation convert to Christianity from Mizoram, he defeated Congress veteran CK Jaffar Sherief on a BJP ticket from Bangalore North in 2004.
The new Bangalore Central has about 13 lakh Hindu voters (about 5 lakhs Tamils alone), 3 lakh Muslim voters and 2.5 lakh Christian voters (including one lakh Tamil Christians).
Sangliana tells PK Surendran that he had never made a caste-communal strategy as he fought elections on the basis of his probity in public life and belief in the goodness of humanity.
He considers Hindus as essentially a secular lot who vote by their own conviction. To buttress his belief, he points out that of the eight assembly constituencies in Bangalore North, four belong to Congress.
To him, he has only one rival, the BJP. The JD(S) does not count at all. His campaign strategist Sridhar chips in to say that while last time the Vajpayee wave had helped the BJP win, no such wave is evident now.
Issues: Sangliana wants to develop Bangalore Central as a model constituency for others. For him, decongesting traffic is an important task. The constituency envelop the core city and it needs relaxation in bugle time, which is currently 11pm.
Since the city has lakhs of people working in IT-ITES-BPO, the relaxation time and a chain of good, affordable eateries are important. He also wants to ensure that all people of the constituency get health insurance as medical expenses are beyond the common man today.
Improving roads, water supply and security to people, especially for children and the aged, are subjects dear to him. Improving police surveillance is also a top priority.
Infrastructure: The core city's infrastructural needs are intelligent road network that would ensure smooth traffic, drainage, entertainment avenues, better water supply and an effective people-friendly transport service. Night safety is essential and police vigil will be stepped up.
My campaign: I go to people directly. My life and works are open books. I do not believe in special or star campaigns.
During my tenure, I spent Rs.7.61 crores from MP funds for roads (Bagalur Road needs underscore), water, building, drainage, and bus shelters.
Following my requests for financial assistance to the seriously ill people in my constituency, I received Rs. 31,71,999 from the PM's relief fund, Rs 2,00,000 from the chief minister's fund, and Rs 15,000 from the mayor. The aid helped those patients to undergo treatment.
I'm ranked third in attendance among the 28 MPs from the state and I have a clean record. I'm confident of earning the votes of minorities and majority Hindus.
HT Sangliana's Opponents:
Govt's gains are his strength |
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Two terms MLA, PC Mohan is the BJP candidate in Bangalore Central. Though he hails from a business family, he has been in active politics since the 90's. This time, the 45-year-old candidate is testing his luck from the newly constituted Bangalore Central constituency.
In Bangalore Central, the deciding factor will be the 13 lakh Hindus voters.
His two opponents, belonging to minority communities, are trying to divide his votes by trying to attract Hindu votes. PC Mohan lists the issues the city is facing today and his priorities to Srikanth Hunasavadi.
Issues: As a MLA form Chikpet for two terms, I have done many developmental works. Today, people of Chikpet remember me for my works. I had taken the initiative to change century-old drainage and water pipes in the constituency.
While campaigning, I will highlight the failures of the UPA government before the people. Today it is not possible for the common man to live happily because prices of essential commodities have soared. Citizens do not have security for their lives due to terror threat following the UPA government's soft approach to terrorists.
The 11-month-old BJP government in the state has spent crores of rupees for infrastructural projects for Bangalore City. I will put forward all the achievements of the BJP government while seeking votes.
Infrastructural needs: Bangalore city is growing rapidly. But compared to other metros, the city's infrastructure is poor. After BJP government came to power in the state, lot of developmental activities have started.
With the assistance of the state government, we will speed up all developmental works. Providing good roads, drainage, and all types of necessary infrastructure will be my priority.
My campaign: My party has a strong network in the constituency. So along with the workers, I will try to meet all voters in the constituency by undertaking padayathras, holding public meetings, rallies, and door-to-door campaigns. |
Zameer seeks secular votes |
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Till 2005 an unknown figure, Zameer Ahamad Khan became popular in no time. Today, he is a minority leader of JD(S), and close to former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy.
Chamarajpet's sitting MLA, Zameer is contesting from Bangalore Central. Although a school drop-out, Zameer runs a travel office that operates a fleet of about thousand buses.
He entered politics in 2004 and unsuccessfully contested from Jayanagara assembly. When SM Krishna vacated the Chamarajpet constituency and went to Maharashtra as governor, Zamir got a chance to contest for JD(S) ticket and won.
Despite his busy political life, Zameer visits his travel office every day to check the accounts. As a secular leader, Zameer also visits temples, churches, and gurudwaras.
He spoke to Srikanth Hunasavadi about the issues he is going to fight for during this election.
Issues: I will focus on BJP government's failures. The state government failed in providing security to the people. When communal incidents are happening in certain places, the government is keeping quiet.
During his tenure as chief minister, Kumaraswamy used to meet people to study their problems. In contrast, during 11 months of rule, Yeddyurappa never met people.
Infrastructural needs: When Kumaraswamy was chief minister, he sanctioned crores of rupees to the city's infrastructural projects. But now there is confusion in providing infrastructure. I will not promise too many things but if people vote for me, I will honestly try to provide them with basic facilities.
My campaign: I will tour my constituency and knock on the door of each voter. People have faith in me as I do not belong to one community. They want new faces to serve the country. In Bangalore Central, Congress is in third place. So our main rival is BJP.
My aim: Bangalore Central constituency would serve as a role model for others. I will be accessible to people whenever they need my help. |
