BENGALURU: Braving the scorching heat, people in the high-voltage Bangalore Rural parliamentary constituency briskly cast their votes. Likening the election to a festival, local leaders of both the Congress and BJP-JDS alliance have invited voters of villages and towns settled in faraway places to come and vote, besides making all other efforts on the ground.
This constituency is a test for voters to elect a ‘person or personality’, with candidates DK Suresh of the Congress and Dr CN Manjunath of the BJP in the fray. Voters joined serpentine queues even in villages to exercise their franchise.
The influential DK Suresh, brother of DCM DK Shivakumar, a professional politician who has grown from the grassroots, is trying his luck to enter Parliament for the fourth time. On the other hand, Dr CN Manjunath, a renowned cardiologist and son-in-law of former PM and JDS supremo HD Deve Gowda, is new to politics. But he is seen as a rare person who has carved a niche in the hearts of countless people through his service in society. Being fielded as the NDA candidate, Manjunath has put up a tough counter to incumbent MP DK Suresh.
“We support JDS in the assembly and other local elections, but vote for DK Suresh in parliamentary elections, since he is a powerful person who is locally available,” said Mujahid, a voter in Channapatna of Ramanagara district, which falls under Bengaluru Rural parliamentary constituency.
