Bengaluru: The political picture of Chickpet constituency in this election is a cause of curiosity. Everyone’s question is who will win in this oldest town of Bengaluru city.
Independent candidate Yusuf Sharif alias KGF Babu is expected to turn the tide in the contest between BJP and Congress.
In 2018, BJP’s Uday Garudachar was elected MLA defeating R. V. Devaraj of Congress. The party has given him a ticket in this election as well. Chickpet is an area with middle class, lower middle class and slum dwellers. AAP and SDPI candidates are also in the fray.
R. V. Devaraj lost the last election by 7,934 votes. This time there was competition for the Congress ticket. Former Mayor of Bengaluru Gangambike Mallikarjun filed nomination papers without B-Form. KGF Babu had also submitted his nomination paper expecting to get a ticket. But the party gave a ticket to R. V. Devaraj.
Gangambike Mallikarjun withdrew her nomination even though Congress faced rebellion. Yusuf Sharif alias KGF Babu remained in the fray as a Independent candidate. Now the Muslim candidates in the fray are Imran Pasha of JD (S), SDPI and KGF Babu. There are about 65,000 Muslim votes out of 2.2 lakh votes in Chickpet constituency. Hence there is a fear of vote splitting.
With R. V. Devaraj, Imran Pasha, Uday Garudachar, KGF Babu, AAP’s Brijesh Kalappa and the SDPI candidate joining forces, it has been proved that the fight in Chickpet is not just between BJP and Congress. A land of polyglots, Chickpet, famous for its textile trade, is not just a place for rich people.
BJP won the constituency in 2004 and 2008. Congress won in 2013. Having won again in 2018, BJP is in the mood to win this time as well.
Traders from Rajasthan and Gujarat, Telugu and Tamil speakers are in large numbers in the constituency. Along with traders in the field there are also slum dwellers. Personal charisma works better than caste assimilation. So R. V. Devaraj is confident of victory this time. Chickpet constituency has some areas of Jayanagar, Basavanagudi, Shantinagar, and Wilson Garden in its fold. So it is difficult to conclude that there is such a criterion for victory.
JDS got 24,382 votes in 2013 and 23,662 votes in 2008. SDPI polled 11,700 votes in 2018 and 4,821 in 2013. So the presence of KGF Babu in the fray along with these two parties has changed the picture this time. KGF Babu is in the news for various issues including IT raid, and seizure of DD distributed to voters. He has also helped the needy ones in the constituency from his own pocket.