Karnataka polls: BJP senses fourth straight victory from key CV Raman Nagar constituency

CV Raman Nagar constituency is home to some well-known places and landmarks such as HAL Airport, Greater Indiranagar, Bagmane Tech Park and a large PSU belt, and has a total of 2.6 lakh voters. Of this, over 60,000 belong to the Schedule Castes, 40,000 are from the Tamil speaking community, 20,000 are Vokkaligas, 40,000 are from minority communities, besides others.

Many voters feel that three-time MLA Raghu is largely responsible for the development that has taken place in the area over the last 15 years. They say the BJP leader has provided them with education, housing and other infrastructure facilities.

However, the AAP counters this by highlighting that the constituency has “poor infrastructure”, “lack of basic facilities” and alleging that the MLA is “unapproachable”. The party also accuses the Congress candidate of being highly corrupt and uneducated.

Dasari, the AAP candidate, says, “Unfortunately, when you come to CV Raman Nagar, the core people who come out in large numbers and vote still lack basic facilities like access to good government schools, hospitals and mainly public toilets. They do not have access to basic household needs. In fact, not a single slum board apartment has been constructed in the last 15 years.”

He also alleges that an “illegal alliance” between the BJP and Congress is the only reason why the saffron party has retained power for the last 15 years.

Raghu defeated K C Vijayakumar in 2008, and P Ramesh of the Congress in 2013 to win the seat. In 2018, he won against Congress’s R Sampath Raj with a margin of nearly 12,000 votes. His vote share saw a slight drop from 50.26 per cent in 2013 to 44.61 per cent in 2018.

Sunil, a resident of New Thippasandra, lauds Raghu for the “fantastic work” carried out in the constituency. He attributes the redevelopment of roads, installation of streetlights, development of parks and a crime-free locality to the incumbent MLA.

“Government schools have been redeveloped over the last few years. Our area has a lot of sportspersons, especially football players, because of which a football stadium is being built on public ground. Apart from this, street vendors were provided with nearly 36 vegetable stalls, which helped us a lot,” says Kumar Perumal, a resident of Murphy Town.

Several voters say they are satisfied with the development in their area, while others express displeasure and raise concerns about issues left unaddressed.

Krishna Reddy and Dheivam, residents of Kaggadasapura, say “power cuts are a major issue” in their area. Dheivam was also dissatisfied over the state of the Kaggadasapura Lake and shoddy road works. “We have hardly seen our MLA. Maybe there are a lot of developmental projects being undertaken in areas such as Indiranagar and Thippasandra because a lot of elite people reside there. But I don’t see much going on here,” he says, adding that development has only taken place in localities that vote for the sitting MLA.

Raghu tells indianexpress.com that he is confident that the BJP will retain power in his constituency and also claims that the party will remain in power in the state. “A lot of development projects have been taken up in the last 15 years. We have created multiple parks, concentrated on white-topping, replaced the water pipelines after 40 years, developed a 100-bed isolation ward, an air-conditioned railway station and Sir C V Raman General Hospital. We have also rejuvenated the Byrasandra Lake and the work in Kaggadasapura Lake is under progress. I will be re-elected for sure,” the MLA says.

Speaking about the Congress and AAP, he adds, “The Congress changes its candidates every year and they are announced last-minute, which is the reason for their downfall. The AAP is not even a factor, and they will lose their deposit as well. If a person has not done anything, how can he ask for votes?”