Bangalore North (parliamentary constituency number 24) comprises eight assembly constituencies – KR Pura, Byatarayanapura, Yeshwanthapura, Dasarahalli, Mahalakshmi Layout, Malleshwaram, Hebbal and Pulakeshinagar.

Till 2004, this constituency was the stronghold of the Congress. C K Jaffer Sharief of INC had been elected from here to the Lok Sabha seven times (1977-1996 and 1998-2004), and Kengal Hanumanthaiya thrice before him (1962-1977). But since 2004, in the past three elections, BJP has won from here.

Bangalore North was one of the nine constituencies in Mysore state in 1951, when the first general elections were held in India. N Keshava Iyengar from the INC was the first MP to represent this constituency.

Today, Bangalore North is a cosmopolitan area which retains pockets of traditionalism. The development of the international airport here has led to property development, because of which large number of migrants have settled in the constituency.

Find which wards come under the Bangalore North parliamentary constituency

According to the website of the Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka, as of 16th January, the constituency had a total of 27,85,269 voters – 14,50,278 male, 13,34,503 female and 488 others.

[flexiblemap src=”http://data.opencity.in/Data/Karnataka-Parliament-Constituency-Bangalore-North-Map-V-1.kml” width=”100%” height=”400px” ]

Note – Map for representation purpose | Source – http://datameet.org

Thirty one candidates are contesting from Bangalore North this time. Eleven of them represent political parties, and the remaining 20 are independents. Find their details towards the end of this article.

Election Commission of India (ECI) had rejected six nominations from this constituency,  and one candidate had withdrawn his nomination. One woman is contesting from the constituency this time, as opposed to none in the 2014 election.

Know your candidates

D V Sadananda Gowda

File Pic

D V Sadanada Gowda, the incumbent MP of Bangalore North constituency, is contesting again on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket from here. Gowda is currently the Minister of Statistics and Programme Implementation in the Modi government. He has also briefly handled the portfolio of Minister of Railways and Minister of Law in this government.

Gowda has been elected to the Lok Sabha three times before. He was also the Chief Minister of Karnataka briefly, from August 2011 to July 2012.

• Age: 66 years
• Education: LLB, Udupi Law College, Mysore University, 1973-74
• Background: Lawyer by profession
• Voter in: Hebbal assembly constituency
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DVSBJP/
• Website: http://sadanandagowda.com
• Twitter: @DVSBJP
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dvsbjp
• Email: sadanandagowda@yahoo.com
• Phone: 9448123249
• Pending criminal cases: None

Assets and liabilities

Citizen Matters could not get an interview with Sadananda Gowda despite repeated attempts.

     ☛ Citizen Matters’ recent profile of Sadananda Gowda: Click here

Krishna Byre Gowda

Pic: twitter.com/krishnabgowda

Krishna Byre Gowda is the INC candidate for Bangalore North. Gowda is currently the Minister of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj in Karnataka. He was the Agriculture Minister in the Siddaramaiah government, from 2013-18.

• Age: 46 years
• Education: BBM, Christ College, 1994; MA (International Affairs), American University, 1999
• Background: Son of late Byre Gowda, a five-time MLA from Vemagal
• Voter in: Byatarayanapura assembly constituency
• Facebook: krishnabyregowda.official
• Twitter: @krishnabgowda
• Email: office@krishnabyregowda.in
• Phone: 9448277977
• Pending criminal cases: None

Assets and liabilities

Gowda, a second generation politician, was first elected to the Karnataka Assembly in 2003, and was one of its youngest members at the age of 30. He had contested the 2009 Lok Sabha election from Bangalore South constituency, but had lost to incumbent MP Ananth Kumar.

Find more details on Gowda’s background and his performance as minister in the Siddaramaiah government here.

     ☛ Citizen Matters’ profile and recent interview with Krishna Byre Gowda: Click here

Candidate debate

• Debate between Krishna Byre Gowda and D V Sadananda Gowda, organised by BPAC

Full list of candidates

2014 Lok Sabha Election

In the 2014 election, there were  over 24 lakh registered voters in the constituency – 12.6 lakh men, 11.4 lakh women and 365 others. Of them,  56.53 percent i.e. 13.5 lakh people, cast their votes (7.2 lakh men, 6.3 lakh women, 18 others, 2068 postal voters). Fourteen candidates contested, of whom 12 forfeited their deposit.

Sadananda Gowda won from the constituency with over 53 percent votes. The runner-up C Narayanaswamy of Congress could win only around 36 percent votes.

Source: http://www.ceokarnataka.kar.nic.in/PCELE2019/ELECTION%20STATISTICS-2014.pdf