South Central 18 | Electoral Integrity & Bengaluru's Governance Dilemma
The 18th episode of South Central, a weekly podcast hosted by TNM’s editor-in-chief Dhanya Rajendran and editorial head for reporting Pooja Prasanna, discussed concerns of electoral roll manipulation and Bengaluru’s governance challenges. Joining them were senior editor Nandini Chandrashekar, Nitin Sethi, the founding editor of Reporters' Collective, and activist Tara Krishnaswamy.
Nitin Sethi highlighted serious concerns regarding electoral rolls. He said, "Voter list manipulation has been part of the game for a fairly long while. If you look at election records, you’ll ghost voters up to two, three lakhs in a population of twenty lakhs. Now, technology allows rigorous manipulation at a greater scale. If any party, with a considerably large number of workers try to do this, they can affect it at scale. At this moment, we do not have adequate safeguards to ensure the credibility of the electoral process."
Nandini Chandrashekar raised concerns about voter disenfranchisement, pointing out systemic issues within the electoral process. She highlighted, "Faulty voter rolls and procedural errors deny citizens their right to vote effectively. These errors severely hinder democratic participation."
Tara Krishnaswamy focused on Bengaluru's governance issues, particularly criticising the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill. She argued, "This Bill centralises administrative control instead of empowering local bodies, undermining local governance and accountability. It moves us further away from decentralisation."
The episode delves into both the electoral concerns of the country in general, and Bengaluru’s governance conundrum.
All this and more—tune in.
Once a month, we will invite one TNM subscriber to the show. Write to us on what you would like to speak about to southcentral@thenewsminute.com
Send your thoughts, suggestions and criticism as well.
Audio Timecodes
00:00:00 - Intro
00:03:17 - Reporter's Collective
00:01:40- Announcements
00:10:20 - Headlines
00:13:09 - Flaws in Electoral Process
00:44:59 - Greater Bengaluru Bill
01:07:15- Recommendations
References
Powertrip: Karnataka Min’s hand in Ranya gold smuggling & ED raids at TASMAC
TNM investigation: Armed with govt order, Bengaluru NGO steals voter data
Chilume trained workers at BJP ward office until Nov 17, 15 days after cancellation
BJP is pushing for thousands of voters to be deleted in a Muslim-dominated Bengaluru area
Questions swirl around committee that certifies India’s Electronic Voting Machines
Greater Governance Bill gives greater powers to Bengaluru legislators
Recommendation
Nitin Sethi
Nandini Chandrashekar
Tara Krishnaswamy
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Pooja Prasanna
Dhanya Rajendran
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Produced by Bhuvan Malik, edited by Jaseem Ali, written by Maria Teresa Raju.