Residents’ welfare associations (RWAs) and civic activist groups are fast becoming platforms where political battles are being fought. Barring a few exceptions, most RWAs in the city play an active role in influencing voters. Many admit to following the path of “strategic voting” in favour of a “winnable candidate” to ensure that the problems in their neighbourhoods are given priority by the new MLA.
To those who cry foul over politicisation of the RWAs, D.S. Rajashekhar, president of the Citizen Action Forum, an umbrella organisation of over 110 RWAs in the city, argued that this plays out in every election. “It starts with a cynicism that citizen power alone cannot win battles, and out of this emerges a ‘pragmatism’ to work with the MLA, which has slowly deteriorated into political partisanship,” he said.
MLAs have booth-wise polling data, which they use later to target pockets that do not vote for them. “Your works will then end up being last on the list. Our MLA has asked us directly as to why he should prioritise us when we had not voted for him,” said the president of an RWA of an upmarket locality in north Bengaluru.
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Zibi Jamal of Whitefield Rising said on multiple occasions, the local MLA had asked apartment dwellers why he should listen to their problems as hardly any of them exercise their franchise.
“More than councillors, the MLA is the go-to man in the city. Hence no RWA can afford to antagonise the local MLA. We can only work with him. This has deteriorated into a sort of sycophancy,” Mr. Rajashekhar said, and added that in several instances MLAs and their supporters provide donations for programmes of the RWAs.
In many instances, the RWAs decide to vote strategically in favour of candidates who are likely to win. This is akin to villages voting in blocks, said an RWA member in south Bengaluru.
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But how effective is this in urban areas? According to a senior MLA from the city, RWAs nudging people to vote for a particular candidate to get their woes addressed is effective as more often than not, urban people vote for candidates and not for parties.
Some exceptions
A few RWAs are striving to maintain neutrality by helping voters make informed choices. Whitefield Rising, after heated debate among members, has decided not to endorse any candidate.
“We have always maintained that we are a politically neutral organisation. We will publish the promises that candidates made last time and what have been implemented, including those made by the Congress, since K.J. George promised several measures. Following this, we will organise meet-the-candidate events, which will help voters make an informed choice,” said Ms. Jamal.
I Change Indiranagar is also planning to release a citizen manifesto and organise meet-the-candidate events to help voters make an informed choice.