Of the 63 candidates contesting from Bangalore North, Bangalore Central and Bangalore South Lok Sabha constituencies, the Bangalore Political Action Committee (B.PAC) has endorsed 12, four from each of the three constituencies.
The B.PAC is endorsing candidates from two national parties (Congress, BJP), a regional party (Janata Dal – Secular) and an emerging party (Aam Admi Party) in all the three constituencies. Each of these candidates will now get Rs. 4 lakh as financial support from B.PAC, which will also help them in their campaigning across different media, said T.V. Mohandas Pai from B.PAC, who is also chairman of Manipal Global Education Services. Revathy Ashok from B.PAC told reporters here on Friday that the committee formed to shortlist the candidates had a “tough time”, as each of the 12 candidates brought a “different perspective to the issues concerning the city and the nation.”
Harish Bijoor, B.PAC member and branding expert, said the endorsement process consisted of an exhaustive review of the performance of MPs, Parliament record, utilisation of MP Local Area Development funds, public service record, details of assets, criminal record, alignment with citizens’ perception of key issues affecting their constituencies. Candidates like H.N. Ananth Kumar (BJP — Bangalore South), D.V. Sadananda Gowda (BJP — Bangalore North), P.C. Mohan (BJP — Bangalore Central) and C. Narayanaswamy (Congress — Bangalore North) scored high on political experience, while Nandan Nilekani (Congress — Bangalore South), V. Balakrishnan (AAP — Bangalore Central), Babu Mathew (AAP — Bangalore North) and Rizwan Arshad (Congress — Bangalore Central) scored high on ability to bring new ideas for driving change, focus on transparency, accountability, good governance and meeting the aspirations of the youth of the country.
The other candidates namely Ruth Manorama (JD-S — Bangalore South), Nandini Alva (JD-S — Bangalore Central), Nina P. Nayak (AAP — Bangalore South) and Abdul Azeem (JD-S — Bangalore North) scored high on their focus on women’s empowerment, safety and ideas for unleashing creative potential.
