BENGALURU: Mahadevapura constituency is reserved for a Scheduled Caste candidate, but the dynamics of who will win here is determined by anything but caste politics, or interests of its backward communities or classes in the constituency.Mahadevapura is a major IT hub, courtesy it being home to several companies such as Accenture, Dell EMC, Ericsson, Hewlett-Packard, Mphasis, Samsung, Sapient Corporation and Wells Fargo. It also has one of the major big four Ernst and Young offices in Bagmane World Technology Centre. It is in close proximity to ITPL, Whitefield, Marathahalli and Bellandur.
Even Million Voter Rising, a popular citizen initiative from Whitefield Rising, a resident welfare group focuses on civic issues that are poll issues, and exhorts people to become a part of the electorate irrespective of their caste and community background. It does not ally itself with any political party and none of the constituency’s problems voice the concerns of the SC community.
Of this, Zabi Jamal, a member of Whitefield Rising, said, “Our objective is to get all residents of Whitefield be from backward classes or apartment dwellers to vote. We focus on civic problems of the constituency on a whole and not of any community or class in particular.”
Arvind Limbavali, two-time MLA from BJP is hopeful of a hat-trick this time. He has come out with a report card of his past five-year tenure as well as a a manifesto. But the anti-incumbency factor may work against him. The constituency grapples with traffic, encroachment of lakes – there are 34 in the constituency – and solid waste management problems.
A C Srinivas of the Congress was the runner-up in the previous elections and is hopeful of giving a keen contest to Limbavali this year but is not exactly known for the Dalit cause and is accused of land grabbing. Bhasker Prasad from the Aam Aadmi Party, an electrical engineer by education, says the people of the constituency know him as he has been involved with various citizen activist movements like Udupi Chalo and Tumkur Chalo, but whether he is a match to Limbavali and Srinivas is tough to tell.