<p>If voters of the Yelahanka Assembly constituency go by the works done by sitting BJP MLA S R Vishwanath, they will have him again as their representative in the Assembly. But elections are not as simple as that. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Many factors come to the fore and those include caste, money and image of a party. <br /><br />Vishwanath has two hurdles to cross to retain the seat - his rivals M N Gopalakrishna of the Congress and B Chandrappa of the JD(S), who are working overtime to trounce him.<br /><br />Despite the taint due to the Lokayukta investigation against him, Vishwanath is going round the constituency as though the probe is a non-issue. <br /><br />The Congress candidate is trying to wrest the seat back for the party. Till the last election, Yelahanka was a stronghold of the Congress, as it was represented by B Prasanna Kumar four times.<br /><br />Vishwanath had defeated Chandrappa, who was then the Congress nominee by 16,700 votes in 2008. The MLA has shown how a constituency can be nurtured. <br /><br />Voters by and large admit that their MLA has made a significant contribution for the constituency. He has also remained accessible to the people.<br /><br />En route to the Bangalore International Airport, Yelahanka today figures in the list of well-developed constituencies in the City. <br /><br />Originally envisaged as a satellite town, it is now fairly a well-planned area with wide roads and huge lung space. With the National Highway-7 passing through it, the property rates are skyrocketing, making it one of the major hotspots for investors. <br /><br />Vishwanath is hoping that implementing underground drainage, improving water supply and providing good roads and huge lung spaces to most parts in the constituency will fetch him a second term.<br /><br />Four wards<br /><br />With a population of three lakh, Yelahanka, which has lost most of its areas after delimitation in 2008, is now restricted to four BBMP wards - Chowdeshwari, Attur, Yelahanka and Kempegowda, a mix of rural and urban areas.<br /><br /> If the Yelahanka new town, old town and other places adjoining it have witnessed overall development, a rural ambience with good amount of greenery is still seen in and around Hesaraghatta. <br /><br />With all the four wards represented by BJP corporators, Vishwanath is confident of a victory. JD(S) candidate Chandrappa wants to believe that there is anti-incumbency for the sitting MLA. <br /><br />He says the development works that Vishwanath claims credit for are, in fact, the contributions of former BBMP commissioner Dr S Subramanya, ‘hijacked’ by Vishwanath. Incidentally, Subramanya is now with the JD(S).<br /><br />With the sitting MLA facing a Lokayukta investigation, the JD(S) candidate sees as an opportunity to wrest the seat. <br /><br />The JD(S) hopes that some of the lapses in the development works and the incomplete multi-crore water supply projects (rejuvenation of Arkavathy river and linking it with the Yettinahole project) will tilt the tide in its favour.<br /><br />In addition to this, one of the BJP’s corporators K C Ashwath (Chowdeshwari ward) is maintaining a distance from Vishwanath. With Congress leader Gantaganahalli V Krishnappa (former MLA from Doddaballapur and a Vokkaliga by caste) sulking after he was denied the ticket to contest from Yelahanka, the JD(S) hopes to consolidate the Vokkaliga votes which are about 85,000 in number. <br /><br />The JD(S) believes that Chandrappa being a Vokkaliga himself may garner the community votes. However, Vishwanath too is an Vokkaliga and believes that caste does not matter much in Yelahanka. <br /><br />Congress candidate Gopalkrishna, who belongs to the Yadava community (OBC), is a former Zilla Panchayat president. He is banking on his local boy image, the anti-incumbency factor and consolidation of non-Vokkaliga votes in his favour to regain the constituency for the Congress. <br /><br />He thinks that in the changed circumstances, a candidate with a clean image will stand to gain. <br /><br />The Congress, which is sweating in the rural areas of the constituency, however believes that development works will not help the ‘corrupt’ BJP. The grand old party is banking on the votes of the SC/STs (who are 45,000 in number), the Kurubas, Tigalas, the minorities, Brahmins and Lingayats (about 85,000 voters).</p>
<p>If voters of the Yelahanka Assembly constituency go by the works done by sitting BJP MLA S R Vishwanath, they will have him again as their representative in the Assembly. But elections are not as simple as that. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Many factors come to the fore and those include caste, money and image of a party. <br /><br />Vishwanath has two hurdles to cross to retain the seat - his rivals M N Gopalakrishna of the Congress and B Chandrappa of the JD(S), who are working overtime to trounce him.<br /><br />Despite the taint due to the Lokayukta investigation against him, Vishwanath is going round the constituency as though the probe is a non-issue. <br /><br />The Congress candidate is trying to wrest the seat back for the party. Till the last election, Yelahanka was a stronghold of the Congress, as it was represented by B Prasanna Kumar four times.<br /><br />Vishwanath had defeated Chandrappa, who was then the Congress nominee by 16,700 votes in 2008. The MLA has shown how a constituency can be nurtured. <br /><br />Voters by and large admit that their MLA has made a significant contribution for the constituency. He has also remained accessible to the people.<br /><br />En route to the Bangalore International Airport, Yelahanka today figures in the list of well-developed constituencies in the City. <br /><br />Originally envisaged as a satellite town, it is now fairly a well-planned area with wide roads and huge lung space. With the National Highway-7 passing through it, the property rates are skyrocketing, making it one of the major hotspots for investors. <br /><br />Vishwanath is hoping that implementing underground drainage, improving water supply and providing good roads and huge lung spaces to most parts in the constituency will fetch him a second term.<br /><br />Four wards<br /><br />With a population of three lakh, Yelahanka, which has lost most of its areas after delimitation in 2008, is now restricted to four BBMP wards - Chowdeshwari, Attur, Yelahanka and Kempegowda, a mix of rural and urban areas.<br /><br /> If the Yelahanka new town, old town and other places adjoining it have witnessed overall development, a rural ambience with good amount of greenery is still seen in and around Hesaraghatta. <br /><br />With all the four wards represented by BJP corporators, Vishwanath is confident of a victory. JD(S) candidate Chandrappa wants to believe that there is anti-incumbency for the sitting MLA. <br /><br />He says the development works that Vishwanath claims credit for are, in fact, the contributions of former BBMP commissioner Dr S Subramanya, ‘hijacked’ by Vishwanath. Incidentally, Subramanya is now with the JD(S).<br /><br />With the sitting MLA facing a Lokayukta investigation, the JD(S) candidate sees as an opportunity to wrest the seat. <br /><br />The JD(S) hopes that some of the lapses in the development works and the incomplete multi-crore water supply projects (rejuvenation of Arkavathy river and linking it with the Yettinahole project) will tilt the tide in its favour.<br /><br />In addition to this, one of the BJP’s corporators K C Ashwath (Chowdeshwari ward) is maintaining a distance from Vishwanath. With Congress leader Gantaganahalli V Krishnappa (former MLA from Doddaballapur and a Vokkaliga by caste) sulking after he was denied the ticket to contest from Yelahanka, the JD(S) hopes to consolidate the Vokkaliga votes which are about 85,000 in number. <br /><br />The JD(S) believes that Chandrappa being a Vokkaliga himself may garner the community votes. However, Vishwanath too is an Vokkaliga and believes that caste does not matter much in Yelahanka. <br /><br />Congress candidate Gopalkrishna, who belongs to the Yadava community (OBC), is a former Zilla Panchayat president. He is banking on his local boy image, the anti-incumbency factor and consolidation of non-Vokkaliga votes in his favour to regain the constituency for the Congress. <br /><br />He thinks that in the changed circumstances, a candidate with a clean image will stand to gain. <br /><br />The Congress, which is sweating in the rural areas of the constituency, however believes that development works will not help the ‘corrupt’ BJP. The grand old party is banking on the votes of the SC/STs (who are 45,000 in number), the Kurubas, Tigalas, the minorities, Brahmins and Lingayats (about 85,000 voters).</p>
