Promises galore in a seat beset with woes

The Bangalore Central Lok Sabha constituency — which encompasses both the old and new regions of Bengaluru that are a part of the IT corridor — will see a three-cornered contest. While almost all other constituencies in the state are set for one-on-one fight between the Congress-JD(S) coalition and the BJP, the candidature of actor Prakash Raj in Bengaluru Central makes the campaign colourful and outcome unpredictable.

Sitting member of Parliament PC Mohan of the BJP and Congress-JD(S) nominee Rizwan Arshad say Prakash Raj, contesting as an independent, will make no difference to their chances. The contest is between the Congress and the BJP, they say. The BJP has won the seat since it came into being in 2009, by beating the Congress.

Multi-lingual actor Prakash Raj, who started his campaign long before the other two candidates, believes his ability to speak and connect with people in their own language will ensure his victory. Other than Kannadigas, the constituency has a substantial number of people who speak Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Malayalam and Hindi.


Although Bengaluru is considered the Silicon Valley of India and contributes over 60% of the state’s GDP, issues plaguing the region are plenty. From traffic woes and water crisis to dying lakes and depletion in greenery, citizens have a long list of issues. As usual, candidates have promised to address all of them, although their track record offers little hope.