Bangalore North is a Parliamentary Constituency that includes eight Legislative Assembly segments. The segments include: K. R. Puram, Byatarayanapura, Yeshwanthapura, Dasarahalli, Mahalakshmi Layout, Malleshwaram, Hebbal and Pulakeshinagar. All the Legislative Assembly segments are a part of Bangalore Urban district. 

Bangalore North held its first elections in 1951. The Constituency has had several names over the years. In 1957 and 1962, it was known as Bangalore City. In 1967 and 1971, it formed a constituency jointly with Bangalore South and was known as Bangalore. In 1951 and every election post 1977, it has been designated as Bangalore North. Of the 17 elections held in this constituency, Indian National Congress (INC) has won a majority of 12 elections. As of the last elections in 2019, the MP of this constituency was D V Sadananda Gowda from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who won the elections by over 1.4 lakh votes. 

Constituency map

At a glance

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Candidates contesting in the Lok Sabha 2024 elections

Read about the incumbent MP D V Sadananda Gowda here.

Key candidates in the news

Shobha Karandlaje

Shobha contested the 2014 Indian general election from Udupi Chikmagalur Constituency and won by a margin of 1.81 lakh votes. In 2019, she won consistently for the second time from the same constituency with 6.26% of votes.

She was praised for her performance as the Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) in the BJP-led Karnataka government. During her tenure, the Ministry of RDPR was awarded as the No. 1 State in India in Rural Development and Panchayath Raj.

In 2020, six girls from North-East India, who worked in the hospitality department in Bengaluru, were asked to vacate their premises by police officials. Karandlaje visited the place of the girls the very next day and demanded stringent action against those who harassed the six girls from Northeast. In her tweet, she stated, “Visited our NE Sisters along with PI Sri Jagadeesh, assured them of their protection & every needed help. Those who harassed our sisters have been arrested by police, strict action will be taken against everyone who attacks our NE people. We are all with our people of North East.”

The Kerala Police had filed a case against Karandlaje for promoting religious enmity after she put up a post on social media alleging that Hindu families in Malappuram were not provided water because they supported the amendments to the Citizenship Act, News18 reported.

Rajeev Gowda

The Bangalore North Congress candidate Rajeev Gowda, a politician and academic, has been active in politics since 2000. In 2023, he was appointed the vice chairperson with cabinet rank of the State Institute For The Transformation of Karnataka (SITK).

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Karnataka this month, Rajeev Gowda questioned the centre’s allocation of funds to the state. He highlighted that funds promised by the Centre have not been allocated to several areas, such as the upper Bhadra project, allocations mandated by the 15th Finance Commission and funding for the Peripheral Ring Road.

“We want to welcome Prime Minister Modi to Karnataka with a few key questions. Number one, why have you not given us the adequate funds? There are three, or four areas. You have not released the funds that are due to the upper Bhadra project that was announced in the budget,” he said as quoted by the media.

In an interview with Times of India, Gowda said that he chose Bangalore North to contest from as he felt a local connection with it having grown up here. He said that he is “relieved” that his opponent is Shobha Karandlaje as he has the advantage of being a local Vokkaliga against a coastal Vokkaliga. He added that there is discontentment against Shobha’s candidature within BJP, while he has a conducive environment with many Congress MLAs, including two ministers, backing him.

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah exuded confidence in Gowda, saying that he is qualified and has good chances of winning. Expressing his views about free education, Gowda said, “We are proposing a universal guarantee for free education in public schools irrespective of the child’s economic background. We have promised a six per cent allocation of the GDP towards education. I don’t think funding this promise will be a problem. I think this is a crucial investment and there is no question of bleeding the economy.”

Past election results

Constituency key issues

Though the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has been allocated Rs. 30 crore for Sankey Tank Development, there continues to be issues. Walkers express concerns over dead fish in the lake. There have been reports of garbage and sewage entering the lake as well as increased levels of toxicity of the water. The toilets in the premises are also in poor condition. Recently, concerns have been raised over the construction of a footbridge at Sankey Tank, which is supposed to connect Sadashivnagar and Malleshwaram 18th cross. Conservationists and residents say there is no need for a bridge and that the lake ecology should not be disturbed. 

The former state government filed 70 FIRs against those who protested against the construction of the Sankey Road flyover. Residents contend that the flyover will not be decongesting the road, but will result in the felling of several trees, which is detrimental to the environment.

In Bangalore North, several grade separators are being constructed to address traffic congestion. These grade separators are part of efforts to alleviate traffic issues in the area. BBMP proposed a flyover at Gokula Road Junction at a cost of Rs. 40 crores. However, if the previously completed Yeshwanthapura flyover was extended by another 500 metres to bypass the Gokula Road junction, there would have been no need for a flyover at Gokula. 

Read more: Close shave for Palace Orchards: Sankey road flyover would sound a death knell for heritage trees

Hebbal constituency, especially the Hebbal main road and the neighbourhood close to the airport road are infamous for traffic congestion and deadly accidents. Hebbal main road is a major junction for vehicles commuting to and from the airport. Poor public transport connectivity and walkability are among the most important concerns in Hebbal. Walkers in K. R. Puram have complained about the lack of a foot over bridge between K. R. Puram metro station and the railway stations to make crossing the road less risky.

Twenty six lakes in Byatarayanapura are supposed to be rejuvenated, but several lakes have been allegedly encroached or polluted by sewage. Residents of this constituency constantly face stormwater drain encroachments and poor waste management. 

Residents of Mahalakshmi layout face shortage of drinking water, flooding of low-lying areas and clogged drainage pipes. Traffic continues to be a concern as well. Peenya Industrial Area, being one of the largest industrial areas in South-east Asia, has contributed significantly to the growth of Bengaluru. However, the area suffers from air and soil pollution, and contamination of water sources. 

Pulakeshinagar faces issues of poor sanitation, inadequate water supply, problems with drainage, housing issues, poor waste management, inadequate drinking water, lack of streetlights, and drug abuse. Garbage continues to remain a major concern in this constituency. Residents have complained about garbage dumping in Frazer Town and construction debris in Pulakeshinagar and Coles Road. 

Poor roads and garbage remain as major concerns in Yeshwanthapura. Several wards in the constituency still struggle with bad roads. Residents of Herohalli and Doddabidarakallu have reported mud roads being washed away by heavy rains. Four of the seven BBMP waste to energy plants lie in this constituency, in Kannahalli, Seegehalli villages, Lingadheeranahalli and the Doddabidarakallu ward. Residents have protested against all four plants because of foul smell and groundwater pollution.  

Also read:

• Sankey road widening: A project that doesn’t die
• How a foot-over-bridge can slash travel time and pollution in Yeshwanthpur
• How to contact BBMP Dasarahalli zone officials?