“Almost every weekend, he conducts meetings with officials from all civic agencies. People like me can give a memorandum and have our problems heard and solved. Accessibility does not mean picking up calls. It is important to solve our problems,” said a resident of east Bengaluru when asked if the MLA of his constituency, who is also a Minister, was accessible.
In south Bengaluru, a resident had a different tale to tell. “Our MLA is not at all accessible. The proof? He sent his wife to campaign for him. We have not seen him in person even once. So accessibility is obviously going to be one of the main factors behind my vote. In fact, when an opposition party candidate came for campaigning, I told him, ‘be approachable and we will vote for you’,” he said.
Another resident pointed out how his MLA was clear about who he wanted to be accessible to — residents of areas that voted for him. “They know exactly which booths gave them how many votes. They (leaders) don’t want to waste time engaging with areas that didn’t vote for them,” he said.
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Quality of life, infrastructure, and ideology are the other issues that Bengaluru voters care about.
According to Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy, who is the MLA from BTM Layout, accessibility, though it is not the only criterion, is an important factor that can swing votes. This, along with the perception of how an MLA conducts himself or herself, his or her relationship with the public, and the development works taken up play a big role in how people vote. “An MLA’s relationship with the people matters. If he or she attends public meetings, for example, the relationship with the public improves,” he said.
Another MLA pointed out how Bengaluru had a large number of educated voters who engage with the bureaucracy and politicians. Newer residents also look to social media as an influencing factor when voting, he said.
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D.S. Rajashekhar, president of the Citizens’ Action Forum (CAF), said accessibility was both “relevant and important”, but a factor that has been twisted to equate to rare weekly public meetings in many constituencies. “They organise a meeting with citizens one day of the week, but the voice of citizens is suppressed as party workers outnumber them. For a normal voter, there is no chance to approach the MLA in 90% of the cases. Even the voice of residents’ associations is not taken into account. To track the MLA down, especially if he or she is a Minister, means making calls to 10 different people and waiting outside this place and that,” he said, suggesting that MLAs should have at least some form of token system to be accessible to the public.
The real job
Speaking about the “real job” of an MLA, he said: “The basic roles and responsibilities of an MLA do not include laying roads and constructing drains. That is the job of the ward councillor. But MLAs have superseded them and are engaged in these works to get a hold on the public. As responsible citizens, we should know that the MLA’s role is in framing policies on mobility, water, etc... how he or she goes to the Assembly and puts forth ideas for the city and the constituency,” he said.
C.N. Ashwathnarayan, MLA for Malleswaram, said accessibility is even more important than development works. “People see accessibility first before voting for anyone. I understand that an MLA’s job is more in the Assembly. If the system functions well, people shouldn’t even go to the councillor. But invariably, they either go to the councillor or directly to the MLA. In my office, there is an army of people tending to different areas such as pension, voter rolls, tree cutting permissions, etc. We cannot turn away people when they come,” he said.