Basavanagudi does not give a second chance to its MLAs

One of the oldest and well maintained areas in Bangalore, the middle-class dominated Basavanagudi has been a prestigious constituency, given its preponderance of educated voters.

Known for its annual groundnut festival, and the city’s well known religious shrines including Bull temple, Uttaradi Mutt and Shankar Mutt, it is also home to a number of educational institutions including the iconic National College.

The constituency has the record of electing highly-respected political stalwarts such as former chief minister late Ramakrishna Hegde and TR Shamanna. Politicians such as Haranahalli Ramaswamy, administrator N Lakshman Rau and artistes Ananth Nag, Vajramuni and Umashree have in the past contesed from this constituency.

Of late, voters here have traditionally elected Vokkaliga candidates to the assembly except in 2004, when K Chandrashekhar of the Congress, a Dalit, won. He failed to get re-elected in 2008 elections. No candidate, other than Ramakrishna Hegde, has ever been elected a second time.

Basavanagudi has six BBMP wards -- Basavanagudi, Hanumanthnagar, Srinagar, Girinagar, Vidyapeeta and Kathriguppe. While four are represented by BJP,  Hanumanthnagar is represented by K Chandrasekhar of the Congress and Srinagar by candidate T Thimme Gowda of the JD(S). The constituency has 1,98,190 voters, among them 13,818 who enrolled their names in the voters’ list recently.