Fourteen out of 28 seats in Karnataka are all set to go to polls in the second phase on Friday, and all four Lok Sabha seats in Bengaluru are gearing up for voting. Bengaluru South, Bengaluru North, Bengaluru Central, and Bengaluru Rural are the four seats in the tech capital, and the Karnataka government has already announced a holiday for people to step out and vote.
Bengaluru South
Bengaluru South is one of the key constituencies in the state as an electrifying campaign took place in this high-profile Lok Sabha seat. A total of eight assembly constituencies are part of this Parliament seat, which include Govindraj Nagar, Vijay Nagar, Chickpet, Basavanagudi, Padmanabha Nagar, BTM Layout, Jayanagar and Bommanahalli.
How did Bengaluru South vote in the past?
Bengaluru South has been a bastion of the BJP as it has been winning there since 1996. BJP stalwart leader and former union minister Anant Kumar won from Bengaluru South five consecutive times, and he became a union minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s cabinets. After the death of Anant Kumar in 2018, the BJP fielded Tejasvi Surya in 2019. Tejasvi Suya had taken on BK Hariprasad of Congress in 2019 and won with a majority of more than three lakh votes.
Who are key candidates in Bengaluru South?
The sitting MP from the BJP, Tejasvi Surya, is taking on former Jayanagar MLA and Congress leader Sowmya Reddy in this general election. After losing an assembly election with a small margin, the Congress fielded Sowmya Reddy against Surya in the election. Sowmya Reddy, who is also the daughter of transport minister Ramalinga Reddy, campaigned extensively in the south of Bengaluru and expressed confidence in winning this Lok Sabha seat. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar even campaigned for Sowmya Reddy in Bengaluru South.
{{/usCountry}}The sitting MP from the BJP, Tejasvi Surya, is taking on former Jayanagar MLA and Congress leader Sowmya Reddy in this general election. After losing an assembly election with a small margin, the Congress fielded Sowmya Reddy against Surya in the election. Sowmya Reddy, who is also the daughter of transport minister Ramalinga Reddy, campaigned extensively in the south of Bengaluru and expressed confidence in winning this Lok Sabha seat. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar even campaigned for Sowmya Reddy in Bengaluru South.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, Tejasvi Surya, 33, also ran a wide campaign with the “Vote for Modi once again” slogan, and he has been betting on his performance as a first-time MP. He also said that the BJP will maintain a winning streak in Bengaluru South and the party big-wigs like Annamalai and Amit Shah have campaigned for Surya in Bengaluru South.
The results of Lok Sabha election will be out on June 4.