BENGALURU: The stage is set for a straight fight between Congress and BJP in the crucial Jayanagar assembly constituency as campaigning for the seat came to a close on Saturday. Elections to the last of the 224 constituencies of the state will be held on Monday.
In a parting shot, BJP MP Ananth Kumar - who is in charge of Jayanagar assembly constituency - flagged off a bike rally that covered the entire constituency while Congress’ Ramalinga Reddy held a roadshow to campaign for party candidate and his daughter Sowmya Reddy. In a show of strength and solidarity, all the BJP corporators of the constituency came together in the rally.
For Congress, the Jayanagar seat is a matter of prestige. After losing out on the ministry post, Reddy is bent on ensuring his daughter wins the seat he lobbied for. Reddy, who did not go campaigning for his own election from BTM constituency, has been holding corner meetings and roadshows for his daughter. “We are 100 per cent confident of a victory. All our energy and time have been invested into this seat and our supporters have been working round the clock,” Reddy told TNIE.
Incidentally, while the BJP fielded bigwigs like state president B S Yeddyurappa, MPs Shobha Karandlaje, Ananth Kumar, P C Mohan and D V Sadananda Gowda to campaign for its candidate, no other prominent Congress leader other than Reddy has campaigned for Sowmya. Former Aam Aadmi Party leader Ravikrishna Reddy is also contesting as an independent.
BJP’s B N Prahlad - brother of deceased former MLA and original BJP candidate B N Vijayakumar - is pitted against Sowmya Reddy of the Congress who is also being backed by JD(S) after the party withdrew its candidate from the fray. With a mix of Brahmin, Vokkaliga and minority population, the seat has been BJP’s bastion for over a decade now. Reddy intends to change the pattern.