Karnataka assembly elections 2023: Mahadevapura high stakes battle poised for photo finish

Of all the good and the bad that Bengaluru is known for, Mahadevapura takes the larger share of both as it is an employment-generating hub, yet plagued with lack of basic amenities.

The assembly constituency — a melting pot of different cultures – is also referred to as a new and emerging Bengaluru. On the flipside, all it takes is a short spell of rain to understand the underbelly of Mahadevapura.

Given its importance as a fast-growing neighborhood, both the BJP and the Congress are going all out to emerge victorious. As it is one of the largest constituencies in the state where party network and money power play a major role, the candidates representing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the JD(S) are yet to make their presence felt across the assembly segment.

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The BJP has dropped its incumbent MLA representing the constituency, Aravind Limbavali, first elected in 2008, and has instead nominated his wife S Manjula, a political novice.

This has emboldened the Congress, which struggled to field a strong candidate until the 11th hour.

The Limbavali family, which is holding its own rallies across the SC-reserved constituency, is banking on multiple factors such as party volunteers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charisma and the development works carried out by the BJP in the last five years. It has built a network of party workers starting from the polling booths to shakti kendras in every ward.

A section of the voters are disenchanted with Limbavali, a three-time representative of the constituency, since a large part of the segment is still to have proper roads, drains and footpaths, giving it the appearance of a village.

Limbavali, for his part, said the party preferred a woman candidate in Bengaluru and has therefore denied him the ticket.

“I have not been assured of other posts,” he said.

With the BJP fielding a novice, political observers say support for the 64-year-old Congress candidate H Nagesh has been swelling. Dalit organisations have garlanded him and extended their support.

Considered a moneybag, Nagesh is the sitting MLA of Mulbagal in Kolar district. Despite being part of the Congress-JD(S) coalition in 2019, he switched his loyalty to the BJP a year later. He joined the Congress in 2023.

Out of six lakh voters in Mahadevapura, 1.8 lakh are SC/ST. Notably, almost half of the people here live in apartments.