People are likely to vote for BJP, despite its unsatisfactory performance in Chickpet.
BENGALURU: Shopkeepers in Chickpet constituency face problem due to poor roads and garbage leading to fewer customers.
Raju, who owns a tea stall on Chickpet shopping street, said that he had cast his vote for the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) in the 2018 assembly elections.
“The roads here were in bad condition until recently. They started repairing roads because of the upcoming elections. Also, earlier the corporation workers would not clean the garbage for weeks, but now they have started clearing garbage regularly.”
| Year | Winner | Votes polled | Vote share | Runner-up | Votes polled | Vote share |
| 2018 | Uday B Garudachar BJP | 57,312 | 44% | R.V. Devraj INC | 49,378 | 38% |
| 2013 | R.V. Devraj INC | 44,714 | 59% | Uday B Garudachar BJP | 31,655 | 41% |
| 2008 | Dr. Hemachandra Sagar BJP | 40,252 | 55% | R.V. Devaraj INC | 32,971 | 45% |
Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Uday B Garudachar won the 2018 assembly elections with a margin of 7,934 votes.
The voter turnout in 2018 was 57.66 percent with 1,11,763 male voters and 1,05,070 female voters. As on January 2023 there are 1,08,852 male voters and 1,04,197 female voters in the constituency. The constituency is spread over 10.63 sq.kms and is divided into seven wards.
Sunil, who owns a clothing shop in Chickpet market street said, “Large trucks are parked in front of our shops and peoplecannot see our stores as these trucks cover them.”
He further said that these trucks are not allowed inside the city but still drivers park them there.
Dovin, a wholesale dealer in Chickpet market for 16 years said, “BJP has not done a great job this time. Roads were not constructed and have been in the worst condition for all these years. It is difficult to transport goods, as truck drivers would not come inside the street due to bad road conditions.”
He added that despite parking lot being present at the Chickpet metro station and K.R market, people park their vehicles in front of shops which lead to traffic jam. So, it is also their responsibility to follow rules.”
Dovin had cast his vote to BJP in 2018 elections and he is planning to vote for BJP. “I think next time they’ll do better work, so I’ll vote for BJP.” Vishnu, who owns a shop on Sultanpet road said, “The road was in bad condition all these years leading to low count of customers but now they are repairing the road.”
The road repair led people to walk on a narrow pathway with heavy load.
