Citizens divided on survey but united on their ideal MLA

Bangalore: With the overall rating of the city merely clocking 5.4 on 10 in a recent independent survey conducted by Daksh, which also rated performance of the MLAs, Bangaloreans have offered a mixed response on the findings. But they are united on what they expect their ideal MLA to be: visionary, inspiring, balanced and an effective decision-maker.
BR Ramesh, a retired BHEL marketing manager and resident of Rajarajeshwarinagar, while partially agreeing with the survey, says: “There are a lot of problems and our MLA is not accessible at all.I’m not sure how other MLAs have been rated below him, but in my opinion, there is a lot that needs to be done which is not happening.”
Pointing out that the MLA does not even live in the constituency and is barely accessible, Ramesh said: “We elected him with a lot of hope but our area is filled with potholes and no work is done. Just to meet him we need to go all the way to Vyalikaval.”
Jesse Tom (name changed), a senior citizen from Pai Layout in K R Puram constituency, expressed surprise over her MLA being rated the first. “Repeated representations about a small problem like traffic congestion have not been solved. In fact, it has only become worse,” she said, adding that unlike his claims he is not accessible at all.
“The important thing when such surveys happen is awareness. People must be informed in advance that a survey is being conducted so we can take part. I don’t know who were the residents approached in our constituency,” she said.
N Mukund from Jayanagar says that a good MLA is someone that a constituency and Bangalore can be proud of. “He should know the demography, socialistic pattern and issues concerning Bangalore. He should be inspiring to others. A good MLA should be someone who has the people’s best interests in his heart and head.”
People also felt that MLAs must be able to balance between development and governance and have a vision for the constituency, in line with that of the city and not just implement existing schemes.
“The MLA should be a visionary, innovative and effective in making decisions. He is someone who should know the many sides to every story, is objective and believes that citizen’s opinion counts,” Mukund says.
CITIZENSPEAK
I’ve been staying for a while now and we’ve seen our MLA’s keenness to address our woes. This is not only when he was just an MLA but even after he became the minister. I do not know how the survey was done. Maybe the ratings have been arrived at using an algorithm and reflect accurately the opinions from the sample. But I personally feel our MLA deserved better rating
-- P Raghavendra (BTM Layout) | techie
I feel the survey is accurate. We’ve known our MLA for more than one term now but the same enthusiasm seems lacking in him. That said, we are not clear how many people were surveyed and if there were samples from every ward in the constituency or if the surveyors restricted themselves to select wards for the sake of convenience. While a lot of infrastructure projects have been commissioned since he became MLA, garbage and other issues are still there
-- Sudeep Satish (C V Raman Nagar) | techie
I think there is a lot of work happening under this MLA compared to a few years ago. After his own party formed the government, he has been very proactive and many issues are being addressed. My landlord says he is also very accessible, which helps. Going purely by his work I think he deserves more points, but I’m not sure if other MLAs have done more, which is why he is placed wherever he is
--Sudhir K R | (Indiranagar-Shantinagar constituency) | intellectual property analyst