BENGALURU: Padmanabhanagar assembly constituency appeared set for a highvoltage contest when speculation gained ground that the Congress would field its Bengaluru Rural MP DK Suresh against sitting BJP MLA and revenue minister R Ashoka. What could have been a close contest, however, did not even take off as the situation never arose.
Ashoka, Samrat to his party workers, though left his fief under the care of his supporters. Barring the occasional roadshow, he is rarely seen in the segment and is sweating it out in Kanakapura, where his party chose him to take on DK Shivakumar, KPCC chief and Suresh’s brother. Rumours of Suresh’s entry into Padmanabhanagar was seen as the Congress’ tit-for-tat for the BJP leader daring to take on Shivakumar.
Seeking his seventh consecutive win and a fourth term from Padmanabhanagar, Ashoka is a formidable candidate even in absentia. In fact, his JD(S) and Congress opponents talk less about him and are instead going around asking for ‘one chance’.
“Let us not talk about Ashoka or his failures in the locality. Not a word against the big and the mighty. But as I have completed one round of campaigning in all eight wards, what is evident is that a complacency has set in. The constituency has hit a saturation level and it requires a new face. Now that Ashoka has been shown a new place in Kanakapura, let him vacatePadmanabhanagar for us,” says Congress candidate V Raghunath Naidu.
Grapevine has it that BJP is miffed with Ashoka because he was seen to be part of an adjustment cartel: Where big leaders of all parties ensure each other’s safe election for a quid pro quo. Reports indicate he is disinterested in the Kanakapura campaign.
Local BJP functionaries defend Ashoka’s candidature in Padmanabhanagar. “The party itself is happy with his work. When CM Basavaraj Bommai visited the constituency in March, he showered praises on Ashoka after seeingdevelopment works across the constituency… Be it connectivity, parks, garbage, mobility, or potable water, no other constituency in Bengaluru is a match to Padmanabhanagar. More than anything, he is accessible to all at any time of the day and people need more from such leaders,” said BJP supporter Prakash Gowda.
Ashoka’s major opponent JD(S)’ Banjarapalya Manjunath has more to say. “We are in a constituency that does not even have a proper playground. Brahmins form nearly 15-20% of the electorate, the second highest population after Vokkaligas, but do not havea place to conduct the rituals of their ancestors. There is no superspecialty hi-tech hospital in the area. Nearly 25-30% of the city’s storm water drain (SWD) network passes through Padmanabhanagar and the highest encroachment of SWDs is again in the constituency. The result is constant flooding of parts of the locality. Is this the development that the citizens who elected him for three consecutive terms deserve?”
Given the Vokkaliga domination in the constituency, the JD(S)’ poor show is surprising. Besides, party supremo and undisputed Vokkaliga patriarch HD Deve Gowda resides in the constituency. Manjunath even claims that about 40,000-45,000 voters in the constituency are JD(S) workers and primary members.
“I have decided to campaign for at least 2 to 3 days in Padmanabhanagar alone. Let any national leader come and campaign for others. But we will campaign for our candidate,” Deve Gowda had said.
Opposition candidates are also keen on encashing the growing discontent among the poor in slums and semi-slum pockets. “In a few areas, residents complained that the MLA never visited them all these years and there is no basic infrastructure. Development is not just about asphalting ring road or arterial roads, it also requires betterment of people’s lives especially the downtrodden,” said Naidu.
With a few days left for closure of campaign, JD(S) is hopeful of conducting roadshows of Gowda and former CM HD Kumaraswamy to swing the verdict in its favour.
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