If the trend continues, then BJP candidate Shobha Karandlaje will show a thumbs-up sign on May 25, the day of counting votes.
The constituency was created after delimitation - but for the villages of Tavarekere hobli, the rest of the area belonged to the erstwhile Uttarahalli constituency. And this time too - as in the previous polls - the fight is between the Congress and the BJP.
The BJP had no base in the constituency in 1989 - During the 1989 elections, the party got only 3.33 per cent of total votes polled. However in the 2004 elections, the party secured 45.38 per cent of the total votes, while the strength of the Congress declined. The share of the Congress, which had garnered 54.35 per cent of the total votes in 1989, came down to 33.22 per cent in 2004. The BJP won the seat for three consecutive terms, while the Congress remained in the second position. The Congress has won in the constituency only once since the first non-Congress government came to power in the State in 1983.
Both the main contenders, Shobha and Somashekhar, belong to Vokkaliga community, which comprises a major vote share here; Shobha has identified herself as Shobha Gowda in her pamphlets. Lingayats, other backward castes, SC-STs, and Reddys cover the rest of the voters’ count. Which means that candidates who can attract non-Vokkaliga voters, in addition to Vokkaliga votes, are likely to stand a better chance.
Banking on the past
Shobha is banking on the party’s past victory, while the Congress candidate aims at cashing in on the anti-incumbency factor. The Congress is hitting out at R Ashok on the grounds that he neglected development work in Kengeri and the surrounding areas, despite being elected thrice.
The Congress has branded Shobha -a native of Puttur - as alien to Yeshwanthpur; but the BJP candidate says her rural background helps her understand a backward area like Yeshwanthpur.
Villages of Tavarekere hobli, which was part of the erstwhile Magadi assembly constituency, has been merged with Yeshwanthpur constituency. The new area has 29,064 voters. In the previous assembly, Magadi was represented by JD(S) MLA H C Balakrishna.
This time Panchalingaiah, a realtor, is contesting on the JD(S) ticket. He is expected to win a considerable number of votes in this area.
CANDIDATES SAY...
“BJP has a strong base in the constituency. Thousands of people have benefited by Yeddyurappa’s budget. All of them are in favour of the BJP. I am sure I will win”
Shobha Karandlaje, BJP candidate
“People of the constituency are angry with the BJP for neglecting the constituency, despite being in power. Wherever I travel, I am getting good response from the public. They want to bring in a change this time”
S T Somashekhar, Congress candidate
