BJP looks to break Vijaynagar jinx as Krishnappa eyes 4th term

Located between Magadi Road and Mysore Road, with the Chord Road cutting through this area, Vijay Nagar evokes the charm of Old Bengaluru with its verdant roads and public parks. The purple line of metro runs through the heart of this Assembly constituency. The constituency has 3.12 lakh voters, with nine wards and is spread across 8.38 sqkm.

The incumbent Congress MLA M Krishnappa hopes to hold the constituency for the fourth time in a row, with BJP’s H Ravindra eyeing to break this jinx.

In the 2018 elections, Krishnappa secured a victory with 73,353 votes with Ravindra close behind. The BJP candidate lost by a margin of 2,775 votes.

Both Krishnappa and Ravindra are Vokkaliga leaders. Vijay Nagar is a Vokkaliga-dominant constituency with unofficial surveys of political parties estimating that at least half of the constituency electorate are Vokkaligas, followed by Kurubas (30%), Muslims (5%) and others. Significantly, the Adichunchanagiri Mahasamsthana Mutt’s main office is also located in the constituency.

The JD(S), for whom the Vokkaligas constitute the largest voter base, has not fielded any candidate here this time. Interestingly, Revathi Nikhil, daughter-in-law of H D Kumaraswamy is the grand niece of M Krishnappa. However, JD(S) sources said the party has not fielded any candidate here as it could not find a strong candidate to take on Krishnappa and Ravindra.

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Arguably one of the richest politicians in Karnataka, Krishnappa’s sprawling house is located in the midst of the Vijay Nagar market. An air conditioning enabled underground Palike Bazar, Krishnappa’s brainchild, is all set to be inaugurated here soon. According to the legislator, his success during his three terms has been maintaining law and order situation in the constituency, apart from construction of two public swimming pools and other amenities.

At the outset, the constituency appears to have basic infrastructure in place. Yet, there are persistent civic issues which residents say, have been ignored for long.

Veena G (name changed on request), a resident of Bapujinagar who works as a domestic help, lamented that drinking water woes have not been addressed here. In addition, the Vrushabhavathi canal runs through their locality and the residents are faced with flooding during heavy rains. “Despite repeated complaints, no action has been taken to provide a permanent solution for this problem,” the resident said.

This is where Ravindra hopes to make a difference if voted to power. A former BBMP corporator, one of his primary agendas is to construct overhead tanks and borewells to resolve the drinking water issue. That apart, he wants to develop a multi-specialty hospital to provide affordable healthcare to all.