The Bangalore Rural Lok Sabha constituency (Kanakapura, before delimitation), which has returned many political stalwarts to Parliament since 1967, is bereft of its sheen this time. The Janata Dal (Secular) has decided against fielding any member of party supremo H.D. Deve Gowda’s family here.
The constituency is considered a Congress bastion as voters have favoured the party candidates 10 times since 1967. While the JD(S) won the constituency thrice, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won in 1998.
The erstwhile Kanakapura Lok Sabha constituency, with 22 lakh voters, was considered to be the largest constituency in the country. Parts of this constituency were redrawn to become part of Bangalore Rural during delimitation.
The Kanakapura Assembly segment, which is a part of this constituency, remains backward and was ranked 172 among the backward taluks in the D.M. Nanjundappa Committee Report on regional imbalance.
Some of the age-old issues still remain unaddressed here, despite the constituency being represented by stalwarts, including Mr. Gowda and his son and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy. Problems are aplenty here. The economy of Bangalore Rural hinges on a rich agricultural sector, which produces crops such as ragi, rice, groundnut, sugarcane, castor, grapes, and mulberry.
Rajarajeshwarinagar and Bangalore South Assembly constituencies, which are under the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) jurisdiction, too face a host of problems because of rapid urbanisation. Farmers, who were once leading a happy life, lost their livelihood after parting with their land to realtors.
Anekal, Rajarajeshwarinagar and Kanakapura are often in news for human-animal conflicts. Successive droughts have left people in Channapatna, Ramanagaram, Magadi and Kanakapura constituencies to fend for themselves.
It is difficult to get potable water even after sinking borewells even up to a depth of 1,000 ft. Igalur, Harobele, Tippagondanahalli and Y.G. Gudda reservoirs are almost dry.
