BENGALURU: The ruling BJP dispensation in the state has managed to retain its hold on Bengaluru Urban district in the Legislative Council with its candidate H S Gopinath Reddy winning from the Bengaluru local bodies constituency. This is for the first time that the party has won from the Bengaluru segment.
Reddy won by a margin of 400 votes against Congress’ Yusuf Shareef. This seat was previously represented by Congress MLC M Narayanaswamy and was always represented by Congress. Gopinath had lost the polls in 2016 to Narayanaswamy by 12 votes.
The victory will also boost the BJP’s prospects to face the upcoming Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike elections, which is crucial for any party, ahead of the 2023 Assembly polls. The BBMP does not have any council now and a case is pending before the Supreme Court.
Speaking to TNIE, Basavanagudi MLA Ravi Subramanya said that this time Bengaluru City MLAs and MPs did not vote as there is no BBMP Council. The voters are from the local bodies in Bengaluru Urban district coming under the Byatarayanapura, Yelahanka, Mahadevapura and Anekal Assembly constituencies. The Council polls have proved that voters from these places are inclined towards the BJP, he added.
He also claimed that the win is an indication of the party winning the BBMP polls and the Assembly elections in 2023. The BJP will have an upper hand in Bengaluru, which has 28 Assembly seats, and this will eventually help the party to come back to power, he stressed. “The Congress fielded Yusuf Shareef, the richest candidate, but that did not help the party win the polls. Voters are sensible — be it Assembly or Council polls, they have supported the BJP, which also means they trust the party,” he added.