Bangalore North: Prof. Rajeev Gowda vs Shobha Karandlaje

In Bangalore North Constituency, the Congress party had won 12 times out of 17 elections here and had made this constituency its stronghold. The constituency, which slipped to the BJP in 2004, has been in the grip of the BJP camp for the past two decades. This time there is a direct contest between Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje and State Planning Commission Vice Chairman Prof MV Rajiv Gowda.

Shobha Karandlaje is not fully welcomed in the party by the workers. It is no secret that Somashekhar is working for the Congress in Yeshwantpur. Also, there is no work to create harmony between the two factions of the BJP. In Bytarayanapur too there is no coordination between A Ravi and Tammesh Gowda groups. Jagadish Naidu and YA Narayanaswamy are not working together in Hebbal either.

Local leaders and activists are not aligning with Prof. Rajiv Gowda's high profile. Minister Krishna Byre Gowda is strong in Bytarayanapur, Byrati Suresh is strong in Hebbal, and there is hope of getting more lead in Pulikeshinagar reserve constituency. In Malleswaram, Mahalakshmi Layout and other places, there is a shortage of leaders and cadres working for the party. However, there is a huge modi wave among public which has been always an advantage to BJP candidate. This time the number of Congress MLA's and guarantees might show a ray of hope for Congress. (bharath anjanappa/bengaluru)