Development is not a mantra in Gandhinagar Assembly constituency spread over the main business areas of Gandhinagar, Chickpet, Cottonpet, Binnypet, Dattatreya temple area, Ramachandrapura and Sevashrama. What matters is “which candidate is less troublesome”.

Dominated by the business community, residents are least bothered about development works the previous legislator had taken up or the prospective legislator’s promises. Most traders, barring those in slum areas of Sevashrama, Okalipuram, Ramachandrapura, Binnypet and Magadi Road, would like to vote for a candidate who does not harass them.

Any visitor to Chickpet, Binnypet, Cottonpet, Sevashrama, Okalipuram and other areas will be appalled by squalor, overflowing sewerage lines, drinking water shortage, parking as well as traffic problems. One can feel there is total anarchy in some of these places. But the people here have resigned to the situation and happily engaged in their trading activities.

Electorate graph

The 2,22,000 voters in the constituency are comsopolitan in nature. Tamilians, with around 80,000 votes and mainly concentrated in slums, constitute a dominant group, followed by Marwaris, Gujaratis, Pattegars, Akkasaligas and others.

Gandhinagar constituency has undergone some changes following delimitation. While Gandhinagar and Sevashrama have remained with the constituency, Dattatreya temple area from the Malleswaram constituency, Binnypet from the Binnypet constituency and Chickpet and Cottonpet from the Chickpet constituency have been added to Gandhinagar constituency.

Cong strategy

While the Congress has fielded its two-time MLA Dinesh Gundu Rao, the BJP has fielded its two- time legislator from Chickpet constituency, P C Mohan. In addition, there are AIADMK candidates Krishnam Raju and a strong independent, V Nagaraj, who is popularly known as Bomb Nagaraj.

Threat nurtured

The independent, who lost by a slender margin of 380 votes in 1999 elections, is said have nursed his voters well.

Unlike in the past, Congress candidate has a formidable opponent in Mohan. In the 2004 election, there was no candidate from the BJP as the seat was left to the AIADMK following alliance.

Tamil diaspora

This time, both BJP as well as AIADMK have fielded their candidates. Moreover, the Tamil Sangam, Bangalore, has issued a direction asking Tamils to vote for only Tamil candidates.

A sizeable section of Tamils are said to be cut up with the Congress as the latter has not offered ticket to any Tamils, including former MLA from Shantinagar M Muniswamy.