B-PAC initiatives to enhance the quality of life in city

Bangalore Political Action Committee (B-PAC), an effort to build a better Bangalore “by citizens, for citizens” — comprising Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, T.V. Mohandas Pai, Prakash Padukone and Vani Ganapathy, among others — on Sunday launched a set of initiatives as part of its agenda to “enhance the quality of life” in the city.

With the main objective of getting more people from the “urban educated class” to get involved in the political process to improve their representation in the political sphere, Mr. Pai, who is a trustee and vice-president of B-PAC, said that the committee will get the urban educated elite to engage in politics, to improve their political representation and ensure that their voice is heard.

N.R. Narayana Murthy, who launched the agenda, said B-PAC would have to play the role of a “friendly, gentle persuader of existing political parties” to ensure good governance. Rather than create new institutions, the need was to transform the existing ones, he said.

Among the initiatives under the committee’s agenda for Bangalore are ensuring proper governance for the city, promoting citizen inclusion in governance, ensuring accountability of civic agencies, developing good infrastructure and strengthening the foundations of urban politics.

However, some of the members of B-PAC’s managing committee have political affiliations: Ashwin Mahesh was the Lok Satta Party candidate for the (Graduate constituency) Bangalore in 2012, Prithvi Reddy is coordinator for India Against Corruption, and R.K. Misra is the founder of Nav Bharat.

However, Ms. Mazumdar-Shaw, managing trustee and president of the committee, stated clearly at the launch that B-PAC aimed to be an apolitical entity in terms of parties, but political in the way it would work to ensure good governance.

“It is about shaking off apathy,” she said. “We as citizens have not engaged with the political process. For far too long, we, the taxpayers, have allowed politicians to be the entitled class. We have to change the political culture in our city first,” she said.

On identifying and supporting good political candidates that matched B-PAC’s criteria irrespective of their party, Mr. Pai said that B-PAC would provide them with financial support using donations by Bangaloreans.