Tejasvi Surya and Sowmya Reddy are contesting for the Bangalore South seat.
With less than 72 hours to the Lok Sabha (LS) elections, voters of Bangalore South, demand solutions to the most basic issues like pollution, mismanagement of garbage and most importantly, the ongoing water crisis. They will go to the polls on April 26, 2024. For the residents of Jayanagar issues such as the lack of parking space and improper garbage collection are of major concern
Sunil, a businessman from Jayanagar said, “We don’t want any freebies from the government. We just want the parking and garbage collection issue to be solved.”
A group of senior citizens in the area also suggested the same. Dr. Sujay Kumar, a resident of Jayanagar said, “We don’t have enough parking spaces. Wherever we park the car, the traffic police imposes fines on us.” He added, “Either give us parking space or abolish the fine for illegal parking.”
Residents also pointed out the increasing levels of noise in the area “There is no control on the sound levels in the area—be it from temples, mosques, fire crackers and loud speakers used in political rallies,” a resident said.
For the citizens of Govindaraja Nagar, water scarcity remains the biggest issue on ground. Nagasundar who runs a boutique said that inconsistent supply of drinking water would be the major factor in their mind while voting in this election.
From Mahaveer Singh who owns a mobile accessories store to Rajesh who runs a kirana store, all say that the constituency in Bangalore South is grappling with the water crisis. Gopal, an auto driver said that just like every election, people have pinned their hopes on betterment of the health and education sector with this election.
Lakshmiamma, who sells flowers, however seemed to be disappointed with the unfulfilled promises made by every government during elections. “All they want is our votes and for that, in every election they come with a set of promises, all of those promises turnout to be empty. Now I have stopped expecting anything and with that, stopped voting,” she said.
Congress party worker, Palani said that the campaign is going well in Govindaraja Nagar. “We have wound up the door-to-door canvassing and bike rallies. The response from the public is good,” he said.
Umesh Shetty, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader from Govindaraja Nagar said that development and maintenance of infrastructure would be their main focus in this election. “The campaign is going well. The Modi wave and people’s preference for Tejasvi Surya would translate into a win for us in Bangalore South with a minimum of 4 lakh to 5 lakh vote lead,” he said. He suggested that Sowmya Reddy, the Congress candidate from Bangalore South constituency, is not a familiar face here despite her father being a Minister.
Sowmya Reddy, is the daughter of the state transport minister, Ramalinga Reddy. BJP’s tactics would not help them win in the state, said Ramalinga Reddy. He added that Sowmya Reddy will win the seat with a comfortable margin.
Civic issues of Basavanagudi mirror those of the city’s, as residents of Basavangudi pointed out broken pavements, vehicles parked on roads, garbage strewn on footpaths and the ongoing water crisis as some problems that seek government’s attention.
Voters of Basavanagudi say they would trust Tejasvi Surya over Sowmya Reddy. Jai Iyer, a resident of Basavangudi said, “Although I’m not a staunch supporter of the BJP, I believe Tejasvi Surya is more competent as compared to Sowmya Reddy. Judging from their election campaigns, I believe Surya is much more driven to bring about the right changes. He is young and has the verve to work for people,” he said.
Rajani Kumar, a resident of the area said that people who visit the Dodda Ganapathi temple do not have space to park their vehicles except for the roads, which blocks them partially.
Manju, another resident said, “I feel Basavangudi is insulated from the rest of Bangalore’s problems. It’s a pretty decent place to reside in.” She added that broken footpaths, improper garbage disposal and the current shortage of water (at times) are some issues that need to be addressed, but that does not make the place uninhabitable.
Dinesh Jain from Mysore Paper Suppliers Corporation in Basavanagudi who is also the vice president of Federation of Paper Traders Association (FPTA) said that the primary issue that paper dealers face in Sultanpet is the dismal state of the roads. Despite the promises made for improvement, the condition of the roads have deteriorated, resulting in severe congestion. The lack of proper footpaths exacerbates the problem, turning the area into a chaotic mess akin to a fish market, he said.
Even a light rain transforms the roads into muddy, waterlogged messes, impeding both traffic and business. Unfortunately, there has been little to no progress in addressing these issues, he said.
Arunima Pal, Ashna Mariam George, Saradhi Sankar, Steffy Maria Paul and Vishnupriya. R contributed to the story.
