BENGALURU: The Bangalore South Lok Sabha constituency has been a BJP bastion since 1991 with eight straight victories. It was way back in 1989 that Congress last won the poll from here when former CM R Gundu Rao emerged victorious. Since then, it has been a virtual bloodbath for Congress with leader after leader meeting his Waterloo here. The Congress vote count has seldom risen above four lakh mark.
Jumping into the fray from Congress this time is former MLA and Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy’s daughter Soumya Reddy, who is a picture of warmth and humility, as she mingles with her loyal workers, many of whom helped her win the Assembly election in Jayanagar in 2018 and almost won her the seat in 2023 too.
Ramalinga Reddy said, “In fact, Soumya won in 2023 when the invalid votes were brought out and counted. The matter is before the High Court and I will not elaborate further.’’ Asked if she will go door-to-door, he said, “It is impossible to do that as the constituency is so vast. We are strategising by holding meetings in every locality and that is the only way to reach everyone here.’’
Reddy pointed out that of the eight Assembly constituencies in the segment, Congress holds three - Vijaynagar, Govindrajnagar and BTM Layout. “We won the fourth too,” he said, pointing to Jayanagar.
He said, “What will add to our advantage is that people in constituencies like Bommanhalli and others, will favour us for Parliament, though they might have supported BJP for the Assembly. The BJP has failed in its promises of bringing back black money, creating two crore jobs etc. Congress, meanwhile, is delivering on its guarantees and promises. Soumya and her team are also good with using social media to connect with voters and that will be an advantage.”
A party source said, “When Krishna Byre Gowda contested from the seat, our party had complained that names of thousands of minority voters had been deleted. This time, if BJP plays fair, it will lose.’’