The Bangalore North Lok Sabha constituency is a paradox of sorts as there is nothing in common among any of the eight Assembly segments under it.
There is a mismatch in terms of development too as its geographical jurisdiction ranges from upmarket Malleswaram to villages. It comprises the Assembly segments of Malleswaram, K.R. Puram, Pulakeshinagar, Byatarayanapura, Mahalakshmi Layout, Yeshwantpur, Hebbal and Dasarahalli. Most of the areas are those that are adjoining the Outer Ring Road.
This heterogeneous mix of areas and cultures has had an impact on its political character too as this seat has always preferred leaders who can transcend geographical boundaries through their political and social stature. While the former Union Minister C.K. Jaffer Sharief and the man who became the face of the panchayat raj system, C. Narayanaswamy, were among those elected from this seat earlier, veteran leader D.B. Chandre Gowda is presently representing this seat.
Despite presenting a contrasting picture in terms of development, Bangalore North has made a name for itself at the national and international level thanks to the presence of centres of higher learning and excellence. Presence of these centres has helped Bangalore earn the sobriquet of being the knowledge capital of the country.
The Indian Institute of Science, the Indian Space Research Organisation, the University of Agricultural Sciences, the National Institute of Advanced Studies, the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, the Institute of Animal Health and Veterinary Biologicals and the State’s first Veterinary College are all located here.
Academic and scientific excellence apart, Bangalore North has now emerged as a prime real estate destination. The new highway leading to the international airport and good connectivity to the city’s central area are fuelling the real estate business here. This sector has become so strong that it has a huge influence on politics too.
The flip side of this thriving business is already visible as a sizeable portion of the total government land encroached in the city is in Bangalore North.
As a large number of areas here were newly added to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike limits, the lack of infrastructure development is visible. Despite having several lakes, the region faces shortage of drinking water, and the problem aggravates during summer.
Despite all these problems, some of the areas of Bangalore North such as Byatarayanapura have become the city’s green corridors with a large number of trees. In fact, the sprawling campus of the University of Agricultural Sciences is the biggest lung space in the city.
