BENGALURU: It is believed that whoever wins Bengaluru wins the state. Aware of this fact and also aware of the peculiar swings in the voting pattern in the state capital, Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress are putting in their best efforts to win as many seats as possible from the pool of 28 Assembly segments here.
In proof of the importance of the IT City, in 2008, BJP won 17 seats in Bengaluru, Congress 10, and JDS one, and BJP came to power. In 2013, Congress won 13, BJP 12, and JDS three, after which Congress formed the government. In 2018, BJP won 12 seats, Congress 14 and JDS two. Issues that veer the voters, like traffic chaos and infrastructure, are specific to Bengaluru. The numbers keep fluctuating, favouring either of the two parties, and BJP and Congress normally try to cross 15 seats in the IT City.
KPCC working president Ramalinga Reddy said that in Bengaluru, certain Assembly constituencies vote for Congress, while others for BJP. But there are always 15-20 per cent of voters who are neutral and do not care about caste or religion. By targeting this section, Congress can come on top in this election, he said. “We are confident that these voters will go with Congress. This is because of corruption, failed administration, scams and other issues associated with the BJP government. We are targeting 15-16 seats in the city,” he told The New Indian Express.
BJP, too, is looking at similar numbers. In the by-polls that were held in 2019, turncoats who had joined BJP from Congress and JDS and helped BS Yediyurappa form the government contested from Yeshwanthpur, Rajarajeshwarinagar, Mahalakshmi Layout and KR Puram and won.
BJP workers, who had campaigned against the same candidates just a few months ago, worked hard to ensure their victory. But the same effort may not bear fruit this time as BS Yediyurappa is not a chief ministerial candidate, a local BJP leader pointed out.
Congress is planning to win Govindarajnagar, Chickpet, and Basavanagudi constituencies, which are now with BJP. Similarly, BJP too has bright chances in Jayanagar, Hebbal, and some other segments that are represented by party MLAs. The party made inroads into some Congress and JDS strongholds in the last elections because of the turncoats. But some segments, like Shanthinagar and Sarvagnanagar, are Congress fortresses that BJP has not been able to conquer. In 2018, then BJP national president Amit Shah took out a massive roadshow covering all these constituencies, but failed to make a difference in the result.
The absence of a BBMP Council, which has not been elected, has hamstrung both Congress and BJP. Corporators would have helped their respective parties win with their stronger connection with individual voters.
In the absence of corporators, civic issues like road infrastructure, potholes and traffic jams, will have to be handled by area MLAs, who will have bigger issues to tackle. “If we don’t address them, we will have to face the people’s wrath,” an MLA said.