Constituency residency not a crucial factor for Bengaluru hopefuls

A significant proportion of contestants live far from their assembly segments

Candidates in Bengaluru do not rely on the 'hero next door' rhetoric to appeal to voters as many MLAs do not reside in the constituencies they represent.

While the majority of the contestants have been residents of Bengaluru for many years, a significant proportion of them live far from their assembly segments.

A look at the affidavits filed by candidates would reveal that at least 23 of them from the BJP and Congress are fighting their elections in a constituency where they do not live. This includes heavyweights like Munirathna N, R Ashoka, Dinesh Gundu Rao, K J George, and Zameer Ahmed Khan, who have won multiple elections despite residing outside their constituencies.

To be fair, the candidates have bridged any perceived distance by setting up offices in their constituencies to remain accessible and regularly meeting the army of booth volunteers.

Also Read | Hijab not a major issue in coastal Karnataka poll campaign

Being a non-resident politician, however, may pose a big challenge for the first-timers and non-incumbents. Falling in this list are BJP’s K Shivakumar (Shantinagar), K R Sridhara (BTM Layout), Sapthagiri Gowda A R (Gandhinagar) as well as Congress’ U B Venkatesh (Basavanagudi), Keshavamurthy S (Mahalakshmi Layout), Puttanna (Rajajinagar), and S Balraj Gowda (Yeshwantpur).

Some candidates are devising unique ways to connect with local voters. A C Srinivasa, the Congress candidate in Pulakeshinagar, styles himself as the disciple of former union railway minister C K Jaffer Sharief, an eight-time MP mostly representing the Bengaluru North constituency.

“Although I live in Yelahanka, I have many relatives and friends in Pulakeshinagar constituency. Before the 2008 delimitation, parts of Frazer Town, DJ Halli and Tannery Road were part of the Yelahanka constituency,” he said.

Srinivasa had unsuccessfully contested from the Mahadevapura constituency. Despite his defeat, he had garnered over one lakh votes against Aravind Limbavalli.

HBR Layout resident Daniel Prabhu said he did not actively try the channels to meet the MLA, but reached out to his party workers whenever there were issues. “The party workers are not always helpful,” Prabhu admitted. “If the MLA resides in the constituency, he will understand the issue better.”

One person cannot solve all problems and a system, therefore, must be in place, he said.