BENGALURU: Bommanahalli constituency might not have seen much visible development in the past five years, but sitting MLA M Sathish Reddy is hugely favoured to retain his seat.The constituency has been a BJP stronghold for the past decade. Not only has the sitting MLA M Sathish Reddy been elected twice from here, seven out of eight Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) ward councillors are from BJP. Reddy has the added advantage that a sizable number of voters are from the Reddy community.The constituency has struggled with civic issues and lack of any major development.
When it rained heavily in 2017, HSR Layout got waterlogged on a daily basis as the stormwater drains were blocked by concrete in many places. Bommanahalli too experienced problems with flooding. Also, Bommanahalli junction is a traffic bottleneck, especially because private buses also stop there. Pedestrian safety is a concern, with many accidents reported from Hosur Road — Silk Board to Electronic City. Residents near KCDC compost plant at Kudlu have repeatedly protested and demanded closure of the plant because of the foul smell and health hazards, but no progress has been made.
When Congress fielded its candidate as Sushma Rajagopal Reddy, the announcement was immediately followed by a controversy with Sushma expressing her disappointment over not being given a ticket from Bangalore South constituency. She even threatened to decline the ticket. JD(S) has fileded T R Prasad as its candidate.
Reddy is known for being approachable, and defeating him would take some doing. The high margin of victory in 2013, of over 25,000 votes, is also an indicator. Congress candidate Sushma will have to quickly get over her disappointment and get on with campaigning if she wants to have any chance of winning the elections.
