Town halls, coffee chats: How parties woo apartment voters

BENGALURU: When Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently appealed to residents of Brigade Gateway, a tony, mixed-use development nestled between Malleswaram and Rajajinagar, to vote for BJP, it was clear that apartment dwellers play a prominent role in parties’ arithmetic to capture power.
At least 100 residents hurled questions at Sitharaman and asked her what role did Bengaluru play in BJP’s scheme of things for the nation’s development.BJP is not alone in courting apartment residents. Congress candidates Krishna Byregowda and H Nagesh from Byatarayanapura and Mahadevapura, respectively, have had their campaign managers conduct apartment-level meetings.
With residents accounting for at least 17% of the city’s electorate and expected to have a decisive say in the outcome in eight of the 28 Bengaluru Urban constituencies — Mahadevapura, Bommanahalli, Byatarayanapura, Yelahanka, Bengaluru South, Rajarajeshwarai Nagar, Malleswaram and CV R aman Nagar —parties are going all out to woo them. The city is said to be home to 60,000 apartment complexes of various sizes, with Mahadevapura alone having no less than 1,000 — each with 20 or more dwelling units. Byatarayanapura has 900 complexes and Bommanahalli 600. Voters residing in apartments are in considerable numbers in Malleswaram and CV Raman Nagar.
Apartment residents were usually seen as elite who would prefer to go for an outing on polling day, but this time the two main parties have changed tack. BJP was first off the blocks with national general secretary (organisation) BL Santosh holding an apartment outreach programme as early as November 2022 with an intent to garner middle and upper middle class votes in the city.
Congress even set up an apartment cell and got its biggies, KPCC chief DK Shivakumar and former CM Siddaramaiah, to address a town hall. Harish Shivaraman, governing member of Bengaluru Apartment Federation (BAF), said the hesitation seen earlier among apartment complexes to engage with political representatives has reduced and most are willing to participate in the democratic process. “We are now seeing a lot of town halls in every segment for parties to come and pitch their campaign,” said Jamir Nadaf, another BAF member.
In Malleswaram, BJP candidate CN Ashwath Narayan has been holding ‘Coffee with Ashwath’ in apartment complexes. The constituency is seeing several candidates conducting meetings in housing societies. In another constituency, a candidate is said to have sought in vain to woo residents of a particular caste in an apartment complex. “We believe most apartment residents have risen beyond caste and creed as they are educated and work in a more cosmopolitan atmosphere,” said Sivaraman and Nadaf. They, however, added there may also be “individual choices” exercised by people. While parties are confident that a majority of apartment-dwellers would come out and vote this time, they know reaching out to each one isn’t easy.