6 months ago
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The trio of Lok Sabha constituencies in Bengaluru has garnered significant attention, as there is a keen interest in whether the Congress party can break the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) stronghold that has persisted for two decades in these urban electoral battlegrounds.
Historically, the Congress has faced challenges in securing victories across all three seats. In Bangalore South, the BJP has enjoyed an uninterrupted winning streak since 1991. Similarly, in Bangalore North, the BJP has maintained its dominance since 2004, while in Bangalore Central, the party's electoral supremacy dates back to 2009. These trends highlight the formidable obstacles that the Congress is currently facing.
In a departure from past practices, the Congress has nominated new candidates in all three seats, aiming to challenge the seasoned incumbents with fresh perspectives. In Bangalore South, incumbent MP Tejasvi Surya is seeking re-election against Sowmya Reddy, the daughter of Congress stalwart R Ramalinga Reddy. The electoral contest is evolving into a showdown between Ramalinga Reddy and Surya.
In Bangalore Central, BJP's PC Mohan, who has remained undefeated since the seat was established in 2009, is facing off against Mansoor Ali Khan, an educationist and the son of veteran Congress leader Rahman Khan. Mansoor hopes to sway the tide in his favor by consolidating Ahinda votes.
Union Minister of State Shobha Karandlaje has replaced incumbent two-time MP DV Sadanand Gowda in Bangalore North. She is pitted against MV Rajeev Gowda, who is often referred to as the 'Shashi Tharoor of Karnataka' by his supporters.
Traditionally, the Congress has outperformed the BJP in assembly elections in Bengaluru Urban district's 28 seats. However, the results of last year's polls have emboldened the BJP.
Despite suffering a comprehensive defeat, the BJP managed to secure victory in 16 out of the 28 seats in the capital, marking an increase of five seats. This was largely attributed to Congress MLAs ST Somashekar (Yeshwantpur), Byrathi Basavaraj (Krishnarajapuram), and Muniratna (Rajarajeshwari Nagar) quitting the party in 2019, which tilted the scales in favor of the BJP.
Nevertheless, the Congress maintains an advantage in certain constituencies. In Bangalore Central, the Congress won five out of eight assembly seats, while in South and North, the party secured three out of eight assembly seats last year.
However, despite being in power for less than a year, the Congress is grappling with a range of issues. Bengaluru is currently facing an acute water crisis, and there is growing discontent due to inadequate infrastructure and worsening traffic conditions.
As per a TOI report, Political analyst Vishwas Shetty anticipates a potential upset in the BJP's calculations, citing the impact of the Congress' five guarantees, which have reportedly benefited city residents, especially women. He also highlights the Ahinda caste engineering led by Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar as factors that could influence the election results.
Inputs from TOI
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