In Bengaluru North, BJP banks on ‘Modi factor’ while Congress hopes to draw from ‘clean image and intellectual calibre’ of its candidate

However, many voters in the constituency The Hindu spoke to raised concerns over inaccessibility of MPs.

The twist in Bengaluru North Lok Sabha constituency this election is that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that has won the seat consistently since 2004 and had secured over 50% vote share in 2014 and 2019, is facing a tough contest from the Congress party, which has fielded Prof. M. V. Rajeev Gowda, who is contesting elections for the first time.

A former professor at IIM, Bangalore, Prof. Gowda comes from a political family of freedom fighters. However, voters in the constituency are relatively less familiar with him, as against the BJP candidate Shobha Karandlaje. 

The candidature of Ms. Karandlaje, MP of Udupi-Chikkamagaluru seat, from Bengaluru North was initially met with resistance from local leaders with a “Go Back Shobha” campaign, similar to what she faced in Udupi-Chikkamagaluru seat this time.

“Our party has always chosen candidates from outside for our seat, which disappoints us. But we are working for Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” said a BJP worker in the constituency.

“Rumblings within the BJP cadre and disinterest by legislators has led to some anxiety within the party’s top brass over the seat. The local leaders are not very visible on the ground. Ms. Karandlaje has also been maintaining a low profile,” according to a senior party leader.

However, S. Harish, president, Bengaluru North, BJP, rubbished the claims and said that all the initial confusion had been sorted out and the campaign was upbeat. “This is a national election. People are upbeat about Narendra Modi and will vote for him,” he said.

The party has a lot riding over the Prime Minister’s rally at Palace Grounds on April 20.