With the Lok Sabha elections just around the corner, a survey on the performance of parliamentarians has come out with mixed news for the sitting MPs of the city’s three constituencies.
The survey was conducted by the Association for Democratic Reforms and Daksh, an organisation measuring the performance of elected representatives.
According to the survery, Bangalore South MP Ananth Kumar has secured a voter satisfaction score of 6.5 (maximum 10), Central MP P C Mohan 7.51 and North MP D B Chandre Gowda 6.51. However, on the national level, they scored lower.
The study was conducted in 525 Lok Sabha constituencies across the country, with 500 randomly-picked respondents in each constituency. Bangalore, however, had more volunteers and the survey had 1,000 respondents. It included a questionnaire on the MPs’ performance on services like water, electricity, roads, food, education and health. In all the three constituencies, respondents named land and lake encroachments as a major problem.
In Bangalore North, poor roads and encroachments were the main concerns while in the South, law and order topped the list. In Central, the complaints included lack of drinking water and employment opportunities.
Daksh co-founder Harish Narasappa said Chandre Gowda stood 43rd in the national rankings. The complete report will be released before the elections.
He said a sitting Shiv Sena MP has come first in the survey but he hasn’t been given a ticket this time. Similarly, an MP from Kerala who secured the 2nd rank is not in the fray this year.
Bangalore Political Action Committee president Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said the survey’s objective is to spread awareness among voters about what to demand from elected representatives. “It is not an indicator of winnability of any candidate. Though the report is not yet complete, we have found that most of the MPs hardly spend the funds they are allotted. And many voters don’t keep track of their MPs’ performance.”
Meanwhile, Meera K, co-founder of online portal Citizen Matters, said many MPs have diverted their funds to other areas. Bangalore Central MP Mohan was found to have released funds for a programme in Nellore in Andhra Pradesh and Chandre Gowda released `10 lakh for the Uttarakhand relief fund. “According to rules, MPs cannot divert funds to outside their constituencies. Also, all the three MPs have released money to dig more than 200 borewells across the city but this is hard to verify,” she said.
THE SCORE CARD
D B Chandre Gowda B’lore North
Attendance 59.4 %
Questions Raised 692
Funds Spent `14.84 crore
LS Score 7.5
Voter Satisfaction Score 6.51
All-India Rank 43
Ananth Kumar B’lore South
Attendance 86.4 %
Questions Raised 217
Funds Spent 11.91 crore out of `19 cr
LS Score 7.5
Voter Satisfaction Score 6.5
All-India Rank 139
P C Mohan Bangalore Central
Attendance 71 %
Questions Raised 237
Funds Spent `5.3 crore
LS Score 6
Voter Satisfaction Score 7.51
All-India Rank 237
Candidates Meet Citizens
To help voters make an informed choice during the elections, Bangalore Political Action Committee will organise a programme called ‘Candidates Meet the Citizens’ at NMKRV College at 3 pm on Saturday. Four candidates contesting from Bangalore South - Ananth Kumar, Nandan Nilekani, Nina P Nayak and Ruth Manorama - will participate in the interaction programme, BPAC chief coordination officer Revathy Ashok said.
