It would be a tough task for any candidate to reach out to the 3,01,796 voters of this vast constituency, formed by the merger of the erstwhile Yelahanka, Bharatinagar and Varthur constituencies. 

Fourteen wards are included in Sarvajnanagar constituency with nine from Byatarayanpura alone. The others are Kadugondanahalli, Venkateshpura, Kacharakannahalli, St Thomas Town, Lingarajapuram, Kamanahalli, Maruthi Seva Nagar, Jeevanahalli, Nagawara Palya, Vivekanand Nagar, Cooke Town, HBR Layout, HRBR Layout, Banaswadi and part of OMBR Layout.

Having served as Minister for Housing and Urban Development in Bangarappa's ministry and held independent charge of Transport, Food and Civil Supplies under Veerandra Patil,  the rigours of political warfare are not new for 58-year-old George. His stints in power naturally give enough ammunition for his partymen to brag about his achievements-- sewage filter plants at Hebbal and Kengeri, veterinary hospital in Murphy Town, rehabilitation of residents of Lakshmipura slum, construction of houses for the poor at Jeevanahalli, ITC Colony and M S Nagar, borewells in Bharatinagar, to name a few.  

Opponents counter with this response: “He is a spent force. He is not a localite and is inaccessible even to his partymen.”

Padmanabha Reddy’s claim to fame is that Kacharakanahalli, where he was the corporator twice, was nominated the best ward by former Commissioner K Jairaj. His partymen, though, exude great confidence and say they will beat their rivals by 25 to 30,000 votes. “Reddy is a localite and can be reached anytime by anyone and the Muslims are all with us,” partymen claim.

R Shankar, who had been denied a ticket by the Congress, switched over to the BJP after two decades in the Congress. He had also served as Deputy Mayor in 2001. Redressing the grievances of the poor, particularly water problems, Hindu voters, Yeddyurappa budgetary performance and his popularity among women are said to be in his favour.

Voters are a confused lot. “No one does anything for us. So, whom do I choose?” queries Joseph, an aluminium fabric contractor at Kacharakanahalli. “I will vote for the name which comes to mind when I enter the booth,” says the unemployed Bylappa.