A new Lok Sabha constituency carved out six years ago, Bangalore Central is a confluence of areas from the southern, western and eastern parts of the city.
The Congress holds sway in four of the eight Assembly constituencies here with its candidates having got elected from Sarvagnanagar, Shivajinagar, Gandhinagar and Shantinagar in the 2013 elections. Three of them — K.J. George, R. Roshan Baig and Dinesh Gundu Rao — are Ministers. N.A. Haris got elected from Shantinagar.
While Mahadevapura, C.V. Raman Nagar and Rajajinagar returned BJP candidates to the Assembly, Chamarajpet is represented by the Janata Dal (Secular).
The victory of BJP’s P.C. Mohan in Bangalore Central in 2009 is partly attributed to a split in the minority votes between the Congress and the JD(S) candidates.
While the Congress had fielded H.T. Sangliana, who was earlier with the BJP, the JD(S) candidate was B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan.
This time the Congress has fielded a youngster, Rizwan Arshad, ignoring the candidature of veteran leader C.K. Jaffer Sharief.
While the BJP has re-nominated Mr. Mohan, the Aam Aadmi Party has fielded the former Infosys CFO V. Balakrishnan. The JD(S) has finalised dancer Nandini Alva as its candidate.
The constituency has 17.91 lakh voters and nearly 8 lakh of them are aged under 35. Thanks to the constituency’s cosmopolitan character, political parties believe that a representative from a minority community will give them a distinct edge.
From the bustling commercial areas in Shivajinagar and Gandhinagar to swanky high-rises housing software giants in Mahadevapura and premium residential hubs in Shantinagar and C.V. Raman Nagar, the constituency has it all. The old core areas of Rajajinagar and Chamarajpet, which have several educational institutions, industries, wedding halls and temples, also fall in this constituency.
Civic problems in this constituency are no different from other parts of Bangalore. While chaotic traffic is a common problem across the constituency, residents of Mahadevapura, Sarvagnanagar and C.V. Raman Nagar complain about the lack of Cauvery water supply, streetlights, and irregular garbage clearance. With most of the low-lying areas prone to flooding located in Mahadevapura, Sarvagnanagar and C.V. Raman Nagar, monsoons are a nightmare for the residents here. Most film production houses and theatres as well as the main bus-stand and railway station are located in Gandhinagar.
Narrow roads and absence of pavements, mainly because of encroachment by traders in the commercial areas, have made matters worse.
