Several factors, including dissidence and split public opinion, have put contenders in Chickpet Assembly constituency on tenterhooks. One of the oldest localities in Bengaluru city, the Chickpet constituency is a mixture of middle class, upper middle class and slum dwellers.
While the BJP has reposed trust in the incumbent businessman-politician Uday Garudachar, the Congress too has again fielded R V Devaraj, who lost the 2018 elections by a margin of 7,934 votes. One of the reasons that may fret both the Congress and the BJP is Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) advocate-politician Brijesh Kalappa and Congress dissident multi-millionaire candidate Yousuf Shariff alias KGF Babu.
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The Congress faced rebellion when former mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun and KGF Babu both filed their nomination papers. While Gangambike withdrew her nomination, Babu didn’t. However, his candidature is uncertain as Income Tax sleuths seized 5,000 sarees and a large number of demand drafts, allegedly meant for distribution among the voters.
The constituency with 2.20 lakh voters, has a large number of Muslim voters, said to be around 65,000. And, SDPI too has jumped into the fray aiming to garner as much Muslim votes as possible.
The BJP and the Congress candidates feel the fight is between them. “The experience during my campaigning is that the people are crazy about voting for the BJP. Even the minority community is also in favour of us. I am confident of winning this time too,” says Uday Garudachar.
R V Devaraj thinks that his works in the past will help him overcome the troubles he faced last time. He said that the voters had not forgotten his contributions in construction of Kalasipalyam bus stand and upgradation of government schools.
AAP candidate Brijesh Kalappa is mulling over a different theory. “If KGF Babu is not disqualified before the elections, there will be two Muslim leaders (including SDPI candidate) in the fray. This shifts the focus on backward class, middle and upper middle class voters. There has been a considerable rise in the support for AAP from all these voters. I have discussed with the traders in the Chickpet area about my plans to develop it on the lines of Chandani Chowk in New Delhi. The infrastructure inside the Lalbagh is also a priority for me.”
Chickpet is traditionally known for wholesale markets. Apart from Chickpet, the constituency includes parts of Jayanagar, Basavanagudi in the south and Shantinagar, Wilson Garden in the east. Like many other constituencies people have aired their grievances about poor infrastructure.
“I built this house in 1978. This road was dug 6-7 months ago and has not asphalted since then. Many have developed respiratory issues. Residents are fed up of complaining to the authorities,” said Ramachandran, a resident of Gupta Layout.