BENGALURU: Shantinagar assembly constituency will reveal the fate of Congress MLA N A Haris, and show just how much difference the Mohammed Nalapad Haris assault incident has made. Haris’ son Mohammed had allegedly assaulted a youth at a pub in Bengaluru and is still in judicial custody.
While Congress did give Haris the election ticket, there was a lot of drama around the fact because they briefly chose to delay the decision. By Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy’s own admission, the incident did affect the party’s image. Some Congress leaders felt it affected Haris’ image too, and were against the decision to give him a ticket. Opposition party candidates have been using the incident as fodder for their campaigns.
Haris has been MLA of the Central Bengaluru constituency since 2008 because of which anti-incumbency is also a factor against him. Across wards in Shantinagar, people are unhappy with what they term ‘high handed behaviour’ by him. “His development works have only been focused on affluent areas, leaving the rest of us to live amidst garbage and sewage,” Sahil Khan, a resident of Jogupalya, said.
The BJP has fielded K Vasudeva Murthy, a former ward councillor who contested from a JD(S) ticket in 2013 and lost to Haris by about 20,000 votes. Murthy is believed to be Haris’ main competitor this time. JD(S) has fielded N R Sridhar Reddy, but the contest is expected to be a two-horse race between the other two parties.
The constituency houses both slums and posh areas, including those in the Central Business District, such as MG Road, Brigade Road, Richmond Road and Langford Town. Among over 2 lakh voters here, about 80,000 are Muslims or Christians, and are expected to support Haris. About 30,000 Dalits are also part of the electorate.Unlike many other areas of Bengaluru, Shantinagar does not have much green cover.