Jayanagar constituency to see tough fight between BJP, Congress

Bengaluru: One of the prestigious constituencies in Bengaluru, Jayanagar has now turned into a battleground in this state assembly election. The Jayanagar constituency which is the heart of the city has majority of educated voters, it was represented by M Chandrasekhar, who was known as the gentleman politician of state politics. Also represented by the congress senior undefeated leader Ramalinga Reddy. The constituency had a stronghold by the Janata Party. After 1989 it was an "empire" of Ramalinga Reddy as the Congress built a stronghold in Jayanagar until the restructuring of the constituency.

As far as the capital is concerned, the political glory of the constituency is not less than any other. Strong leaders including former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda are voters of this constituency. Even though Minister R Ashok represents Padmanabhanagar, he resides in Jayanagar. From 1978 to 1985, Janata Party's M Chandrasekhar had won in this constituency. He also worked as a minister.

Ramalinga Reddy was an MLA from 1989 to 2004, then the BJP won twice as BN Vijayakumar was elected as MLA. Vijayakumar was re-elected for the 2nd time in 2013 as well. However, in 2018, Vijayakumar died due to heart attack. Ramalinga Reddy's daughter Soumya Reddy was fielded by the Congress in the 2018 assembly elections. Then BN Vijayakumar's brother BN Prahlad contested from BJP and lost.

Whereas, Soumya Reddy's contest from Congress is certain in this election, along with Prahlad, who had contested from BJP in the last election, Ananth Kumar's wife Tejaswini Ananth kumar, former BJP spokesperson, NR Ramesh, former member of BJP, former Mayor SK Nataraj, former member of Corporation CK Ramamurthy, actress Tara, son of former MLA Subba Reddy, Vivek Reddy are aspirants from BJP. He has already started campaigning in Jayanagar assembly with vehicles displaying his name and photo.

Along with all of them, former Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao, who recently left the Aam Aadmi Party and joined the BJP, is also a strong aspirant. There are also rumours that he was brought to the BJP by guaranteeing a ticket in Basavanagudi or Jayanagar. If he doesn't get a ticket for Basavanagudi, it's like promised here in Jayanagar.

JDS is looking for a capable candidate. Except that Zameer Ahmed who was previously in JDS contested from Jayanagar and gave competition to Congress, after that JDS candidates could not achieve such a feat here. This time also the candidate has not been finalised yet. Ravi Krishna Reddy, who is recognized in the KRS party, is also likely to enter the fray this time. Besides, there is a possibility of a candidate from the Aam Aadmi Party too. The BJP, which is determined to win three additional seats in the capital, is eyeing Jayanagar first. There is also a rumour among the BJP leaders that if they win here and have control, they can "enter the stage" in the adjacent BTM layout as well. Thus, "ground" work is being done for the last three to four years. This time it is BJP's determination to reach the centenary target, Congress is determined not to give up the constituency.