The votes are in. The leaders have been chosen. The people of Bengaluru have given their verdict on who is to represent them in Parliament.
The lotus blooms in Bengaluru, said one TV channel. UPA sweeps, said another. Singh is King, Sonia is Queen, said one more. History has been created, said yet another.
As the UPA is all smiles and ready to form the next government, they have not much reason to smile here in Bengaluru. Bangalore’s voters seem to have thought differently from their compatriots in the rest of the country. In a remarkable twist, for the first time in the history of the city’s politics , all seats have gone to the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The winners
Bangalore South MP HN Ananth Kumar:4,37,933 votes out of a total of 9,08,620 votes (total elector population: 20,35,149). Ananth Kumar has won his fifth term as MP. Served as a Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Tourism and Culture, Youth Affairs and Urban Development. Age: 50 years; Assets: Rs. 1.22 Crores.
Bangalore Central MP P C Mohan: 3,40,162 votes out of a total of 8,25,835 votes (total elector population: 19,00,132). Mohan is a businessman for 23 years in sanitaryware, retail and real estate. MLA from Chickpet in 1999 and 2004. Age: 45 years; Assets: Rs. 5.38 Crores.
Bangalore North MP D B Chandre Gowda: 4,52,920 votes out of a total of 9,92,046 votes (total elector population: 21,,43605). Chandre Gowda is a practicing advocate. Has been a three time MP (once from Rajya Sabha) and four time MLA with the Congress. Served as Minister in the State Government twice, and once as the Speaker. Age: 73 years; Assets: Rs. 2.09 Crores;
Ananth Kumar, Bangalore South MP (pic: Vaishnavi Vittal)
Bangalore South
H N Ananth Kumar takes on his role as MP for the fifth consecutive time in Bengaluru South defeating the INC’s Krishna Byregowda by a margin of 37,612 votes. Kumar got a total 4,37,933 votes while Byregowda came a close second with 4,00,391 votes. The JD(S)’s Prof K E Radhakrishna came in third with a little over 30,000 votes. Independent candidate Capt G R Gopinath got a mere 16,383 votes.
Ananth Kumar exceeded his 2004 tally of 3,86,682 votes.
Bangalore Central
New entrant and Chickpet MLA (BJP) P C Mohan beat former BJP MP and now Congress member Dr H T Sangliana by a margin of 35,218 votes in Bengaluru Central constituency. Mohan received 3,40,162 votes while Dr Sangliana got 3,04,944 votes.
Other contenders in this constituency included Zameer Ahmed Khan (JDS) with 162552 votes, Vijay Raja Singh (BSP) with 6363 votes and Independent candidate K S S Iyengar who got 3674 votes.
Bangalore North
Bangalore North did not prove lucky for INC’s C K Jaffer Sharief once again. After losing to Sangliana in the 2004 polls, this time the veteran conceded defeat to BJP’s D B Chandre Gowda, till recently with the Congress, who won by a margin of about 59,650 votes. Gowda got 4,52,920 votes while Sharief got 3,93,255 votes.
Among others who were in the fray in this constituency were JD(S)’s R Surendra Babu with 1,10,983 votes and BSP’s Padmaa K Bhat with 8,731 votes.
Voter turnout
After polling finished in Bengaluru, the common complaint everyone had was the voter turnout. Bangalore, with a population of 62,00,000, recorded a dismal 45.37 per cent as its voter turnout.
Here’s a look at how many voters cast their mandate across all three constituencies.
In South Bangalore, of the total 20,35,149 electors, a mere 9,08,560 cast their vote. That is, just 44.74 per cent of this so-called high-profile constituency.
Bangalore North saw 10,02,803 votes polled of the 21,43,605 electors in the constituency. Only 46.78 per cent cast their vote.
Of the 19,00,132 electors in Bangalore Central, only 8,47,196 voted, showing that just 44.74 per cent adults chose to exercise their franchise here.
Here is what the winners had said during campaign time…
"I have already announced that I am going to have a Bangalore Action Plan with five components…As a person who is for the all round development of Bangalore and a person who wants to make it clean, green and with citizen-friendly governance and public service system and I want to make Bangalore as a role model metropolitan in the country, best place to live in."
– Ananth Kumar, Bangalore South MP
"I would like to concentrate on infrastructure, then public amenities and environmental issues. I will ensure that you know which ever comes under my constituency and my state also from the central fund and other thing I will see that it is used properly."
– PC Mohan, Bangalore Central MP
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