BENGALURU: If everything goes according to Bangalore Central MP PC Mohan’s assurances, Bengaluru will get suburban rail connectivity in the next five years. Mohan, a third-time MP and senior BJP leader, was twice elected Chickpet MLA -- in 1999 and 2004. He was the first MP for Bangalore Central after it was carved out of Bangalore South and Bangalore North constituencies in 2009, and has been MP since then. Mohan has been meeting railway activists, citizens, experts and pushing for the suburban railway network for Bengaluru.
Mohan told TNIE that the Union government has already approved a suburban railway project for Bengaluru for Rs 17,000 crore. “When it comes to the railway project, I cannot just think like an MP of one constituency. This project will benefit entire Bengaluru, in reducing traffic congestion and bettering connectivity. My target for the next five years will be implementing suburban rail connectivity in Bengaluru,’’ he said. “The state government should also cooperate in implementing this,’’ he added.
Since Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi is also from Karnataka, the project is expected to be implemented faster. He also wants to take up lake development work, besides push for rainwater harvesting for better ground water recharging.
In his previous term, he had contributed to the construction of a halt station Hoodi at ITPL under MPLADS, and an overbridge between KR Puram and Whitefield railway stations. This was widely appreciated by the IT sector as more techies travel from Bengaluru to Whitefield and KR Puram areas. He also played a major role in introducing DEMU services on the Banaswadi-Whitefield and Banaswadi-Hosur routes.
Bangalore Central Lok Sabha constituency is dominated by minority voters. Linguistic and religious minority voters play an important role in getting a better share of votes. This time, though these voters played a major role in getting votes for Rizwan Arshad of the Congress, Rajajinagar and Mahadevapura assembly constituencies voted for Mohan. He won against HT Sangliana in 2009 and Rizwan Arshad in 2014 and 2019. Mohan, who shared 40.16% of votes in 2009, plunged to 51.85% of total votes in 2014, and 50.35% of the total votes in 2019.