BENGALURU: With assembly elections in Karnataka slated for May next year, both BJP and principal opposition Congress are already drawing up strategies to win as many seats as possible in Bengaluru Urban, the cynosure and a district where 28 seats are at stake.
With an almost equal vote base in the district, it is likely to be a straight contest between the two national parties except in a few seats where a multi-cornered fight is expected because of the presence of JD(S) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
In 2018, Congress won 15 seats and BJP secured 11, while JD(S) bagged the other two. However, four MLAs from Congress and one from JD(S) defected to BJP a year later, helping the saffron party form the government. In the subsequent bypolls, BJP took its tally to 15 with Congress winning only one (Shivajinagar) of the four seats it held.
Bengaluru therefore is now in the limelight and both BJP and Congress are trying to build a narrative around urban issues like infrastructure development, attracting investments, and strengthening ‘Brand Bengaluru’ as a global destination.
BJP’s chief poll strategist Amit Shah is expected to hold a brainstorming session focusing on election preparations for Bengaluru in the first week of May when he is scheduled to visit the city for an event related to the Khelo India games. BJP functionaries said Shah is expected to set them a target of winning at least 20 seats. “Besides retaining the constituencies which we now hold, we are focusing on winning seats like Vijayanagar, Jayanagar and Byatarayanapura where our candidates lost by a thin margin of less than 5,000 votes,” said Satish Reddy, Bommanahalli MLA and BJP state secretary. “All three Lok Sabha seats are represented by our party MPs and we are confident of improving our tally. ”
Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai has allocated Rs 6,000 crore for the development of the capital under the Amrut Nagaroththana scheme and BJP functionaries are betting heavily on developmental work being taken up under the scheme.
However, it is not expected to be a cakewalk for BJP as Congress is trying to wrest seats with a renewed vigour. Corruption charges levelled by civil contractors have set the narrative for their campaign, eclipsing BJP’s Hindutva theme. Bad roads, deteriorating infrastructure, and the delay in conducting BBMP polls have given Congress ammunition with which to target the government.
With Telangana IT minister KT Rama Rao and Tamil Nadu’s finance minister P Thiagarajan inviting investors in Karnataka to shift to their states after an entrepreneur had complained of bad roads, Congress has pledged to redeem the past glory of the capital and ensure brand Bengaluru soars.
“We will go to people with a message about how the present government has demolished ‘Brand Bengaluru’ that was built by Congress when it was in power,” said P Rajiv Gowda, KPCC vice-president. “We are drawing up a separate manifesto for Bengaluru with micro attention to each constituency. ”
BJP, Cong out to woo voters with development promise.
