The twist in Bengaluru North Lok Sabha constituency this election is that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that has won the seat consistently since 2004 and had secured over 50% vote share in 2014 and 2019, is facing a tough contest from the Congress party, which has fielded Prof. M. V. Rajeev Gowda, who is contesting elections for the first time.
A former professor at IIM, Bangalore, Prof. Gowda comes from a political family of freedom fighters. However, voters in the constituency are relatively less familiar with him, as against the BJP candidate Shobha Karandlaje.
The candidature of Ms. Karandlaje, MP of Udupi-Chikkamagaluru seat, from Bengaluru North was initially met with resistance from local leaders with a “Go Back Shobha” campaign, similar to what she faced in Udupi-Chikkamagaluru seat this time.
