E-Paper
K’taka elections: Key battle between Cong and BJP in RR Nagar constituency
As such, it is a key constituency to watch in the upcoming assembly elections in Karnataka where the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Munirathna, who has won three times from the constituency, will be seeking re-election on May 10. He faces tough competition from Congress’s Kusuma H.
Rajarajeshwari Nagar constituency, also known as RR Nagar, is one of the largest in Bengaluru, with over 400,000 voters and 14 wards.
As such, it is a key constituency to watch in the upcoming assembly elections in Karnataka where the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Munirathna, who has won three times from the constituency, will be seeking re-election on May 10. He faces tough competition from Congress’s Kusuma H.
Although the JD(S) has fielded Narayanaswamy and Anantha Subhash Chandra is contesting from AAP, the main battle is likely to be between Munirathna and Kusuma.
Munirathna is the horticulture minister in the current BJP government, led by Basavaraj Bommai, and was a film producer before entering politics.
He was originally elected as an MLA in 2013 and again in 2018 as a member of the Congress. However, in 2019 he joined the BJP, which caused controversy as he was accused of election malpractice during his Congress days.
The BJP leader has also been in the thick of several controversies.
In 2018, Munirathna was accused of alleged voter ID card irregularities. The Election Commission had raided an apartment and seized over 9,000 voter ID cards of the people from the constituency. Munirathna was in Congress then, and the BJP had accused him of indulging in election malpractice.
Munirathna was among the 17 MLAs from the JD(S) and Congress to resign their assembly membership and cross over to the BJP to help the party form the government in 2019.
Munirathna won the by-election in 2020 on a BJP ticket with a large margin of 58,000 votes, against Kusuma, breaking his previous record of winning the 2018 assembly election with a gap of 28,000 votes.
However, he has also faced controversy, including allegations of demanding bribes from contractors and distributing sarees to voters in violation of the model code of conduct. He was also booked for alleged hate speech against Christians in April this year.
Meanwhile, Kusuma H is contesting on a Congress ticket from the constituency and has been campaigning vigorously after losing the by-elections to Munirathna in 2020.
Kusuma, a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Boston, is an assistant professor at Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering in Bengaluru. She and her father Hanumantharayappawere previously in the JD(S) before switching to Congress in 2020. She is also the wife of late IAS officer DK Ravi, who reportedly died by suicide in 2016.
RR Nagar, which has a mixed demography, has been in the news for various civic issues.
While it is among the fastest-growing areas of the city, narrow roads and congested junctions continue to affect the residents. The Outer Ring Road that goes through the area is used by thousands of commuters, resulting in several choke points.
Last year, heavy rains, which brought Bengaluru to a standstill, caused floods in the constituency, and the residents complained of delayed response by the BBMP officials to their distress calls. It had also triggered a minor landslide in the area.
In March this year, residents and activists were up in arms following reports of a road built through the Hosakerehalli Lake in Rajarajeshwari Nagar to allegedly benefit a real estate project coming up nearby. However, the BBMP officials and Munirathna had stated that no permanent road was being built inside the lake.
With various civic issues plaguing the constituency and a stiff fight likely between Munirathna and Kusuma, RR Nagar, with 14 wards, is an important constituency to watch out for in the upcoming Assembly elections.
