Mount Carmel College students get a taste of real politics through mock elections

Around 155 students from Mount Carmel College gathered on Saturday to witness a mock election that was conducted for the Shivaji Nagar constituency.
The mock election had three political parties, and one student candidate per party, campaign manager and a communication strategist. The ballot had three choices BJP, Congress and JD(S).
Held inside the college premises, the election was conducted among students of Political Science and Journalism, who also got to vote at the end of the campaign presentation.Since students wanted a None Of The Above (NOTA) option on the ballot, they were asked to drop blank sheets, which would be considered as NOTA.
There was a Q&A session with the voters, during which candidates were asked questions about their thoughts on caste and if religion plays a role in elections. They were even asked what they would do to make Russell Market better if they were elected, and to state the best qualities of their opponents.
Shruthi MK, 24, played the role of the JD(S) candidate and called herself ‘Akka’. Megha Sharma, 25, and Shilpi Sinha Ray, 23, represented the BJP and the Congress party respectively.
Srinivas Alavilli, a citizen activist and instructor who had taught them over the past few months in a practical manner, by connecting campaign theories to real life in Shivaji Nagar, conducted the final candidate debate.
Srinivas spoke to Bangalore Times about the upcoming elections and said, “Bengaluru has amazing diversity with skills and challenges. The government is currently one step behind the public. Citizens have much bigger plans for the city. They want world-class public transportation. But the government only thinks about ‘how to build more flyovers’. This is going to play a huge role in the upcoming election because people are going to be watching very carefully. They will be looking at the parties that work on the same page as the citizens and does what they think should be done. They will make sure the new government is in line with their thinking. This election, thanks to social media and the activism in the city, is going to be very influential and people are going to be careful about who they vote for.”
Srinivas says an ideal government works hard towards realizing the people’s aspirations and dreams. “The ideal government understands the needs of the people from ground reality and not do as they wish. It takes the public’s opinion over theirs,” he sums up.