Find out how Shantinagar Assembly Constituency is faring and what the major issues in this constituency are. Learn about the incumbent MLA N A Haris (INC) and other candidates, including K. Shivakumar (BJP), H Manjunath (JDS) and K Mathai (AAP).
About the constituency
Shantinagar constituency (Constituency No. 163) is located in the heart of the city’s Commercial & Business District (CBD). Popular roads include MG Road, Field Marshal Cariappa Road (Residency Road), General KS Thimayya Road (Richmond Road), Vittal Mallya Road (Grant Road), Brigade Road and Church Street, which in 2018 was redesigned as a model street for pedestrians.
The seven wards in the constituency are are Shantinagar, Domlur, Jogupalya, Agaram, Vannerpet, Shanthala Nagar and Neelasandra.
A significant portion of the constituency lies in the erstwhile British Cantonment, and over the years, many of the large bungalows have given way to multi-storied residential apartments and commercial buildings that house offices, malls and shops. There are several educational institutions, sports stadia, army lands and places of worship that provide lung spaces that may have been otherwise lost to development.
Being in the CBD, Shantinagar is a high-revenue assembly segment, and has been the recipient of a few TenderSURE/Smart City styled facelifts, with concreted roads and large footpaths. It is already connected by metro, and new metro lines are under construction. However, due to many one-way roads, bus connectivity has left much to be desired. Also, there are large parts of the constituency in quaint side-streets and others that are classified as slums, which do not receive basic civic amenities or facilities that they are entitled to.
Shantinagar is a thickly populated area. A caste-based population analysis done in 2013 puts the number of Muslims in the region at 30,000; SC/STs at 72,000; Kurubas at 14,000 and Reddys as well as other communities at smaller percentages. The numbers are likely to be double that now. The electoral rolls (as of January 2023) shows a marginal decline in voter population.
- Number of voters in 2008: 81,420
- Number of voters in 2013: 1,03,734
- Number of voters in 2018: 2,18,461
- Number of voters now (January 2023): 2,12,740
Nalapad Ahmed Haris of INC is the sitting MLA and P C Mohan from BJP is the current MP representing Bangalore Central Lok Sabha constituency.
At a glance
| Constituency Name | Shantinagar |
| Constituency No | 163 |
| Constituency Area (in sq.km) | 21.60 |
| Number of voters (January 2023) | 2,12,740 |
| Male voters | 1,08,216 |
| Female voters | 1,04,476 |
| Other voters | 48 |
Data for all 28 constituencies can be found here. Corresponding source: ceo.karnataka.gov.in
Key issues in the constituency
Based on media reports and conversations with citizens, these are some of the major issues faced:
- Footpaths, apart from the TenderSURE roads, are not walkable. Either they are uneven, broken or occupied by parked vehicles, vendors and street eateries.
- Poor road quality (potholes, loose gravel and sand) makes large portions of the road unusable and dangerous. Poor maintenance of road infrastructure.
- Frequent electricity outages, due to shorting of outdated and overloaded transformers.
- Many one-way roads, resulting in long round-about routes to get out of the area and poor pedestrian/ vehicular discipline (e.g. jay walking, two-wheelers riding on footpaths).
- Limited bus connectivity.
- High density of schools and offices, resulting in haphazard parking of school buses, office cars and bikes.
- Vast areas are sloping, going down to places where there used to be tanks/lakes. The drainage in these areas is poor, especially after the roads were relaid, resulting in flooding. Some of the TenderSURE and Smart City roads were also flooded post the renovation work carried out.
- Illegal activities in pubs in the CBD (e.g. Brigade Road, Church Street)
Key parameters – How does this constituency fare?
*Based on their performance in each sector, constituencies are divided into three groups. High=top nine constituencies; Medium = mid nine constituencies; Low = bottom nine constituencies. A ‘High’ rating does not necessarily mean the constituency is doing well; it only means that the constituency is among the top nine constituencies for that parameter.
Schooling
| Metrics / Count | Rating* |
|---|---|
| 26 Govt schools; 1 school for 0.83 sq km | Medium |
Shantinagar is among the mid-tier constituencies in terms of area served by government schools. Currently, one school serves an area of 0.83 sq km. In general, a small area suggests that there are enough schools to cater to the constituency and students can access schools easily and do not have to travel far.
Mobility
| Metrics / Count | Rating* |
|---|---|
| 1 metro station | – |
| 57 bus stops | Low |
| 33 bus trips per 100 residents daily | High |
The purple line station at MG Road is the single metro station operational in Shantinagar constituency. There will be new stations coming up once the other lines are ready. The constituency has just 57 bus stops, putting it in the low-tier, but frequency of buses is among the top nine.
Citizen engagement
| Metrics / Count | Rating* |
|---|---|
| Voter turnout 2013: 57.80% 2018: 51.55% | Medium |
| 7 wards held 94 ward committee meetings in two years | Low |
| 13.5 meetings per ward | Low |
Voter turnout in the constituency declined by 11% from 2013 to 2018. The 7 wards in Shantinagar had a total of 94 ward committee meetings making this constituency among the low-tier ones on civic engagement.
Health
We have not rated public health infrastructure as the data available was inadequate, and the data is simply presented as is.
| Metrics / Count | Rating* |
|---|---|
| 3 Namma clinics | – |
| 8 Urban PHCs | – |
| 22 Anganwadis | – |
| 2 BBMP hospitals (general and maternity) | – |
Please note that the number of PHCs or Namma Clinics within a constituency is not sufficient to draw conclusions about the state of healthcare. We also need data on the availability of staff and their capacity, medicines, equipment, diagnostic facilities. Quality is also determined by the distribution and access of these facilities within the area, the efforts in preventive/promotive healthcare and community participation, in addition to the process challenges, for e.g., insistence of Aadhar or Thayi cards.
Click here for the details on how all constituencies fare and their source(s)
Constituency map
Citizen demands
Citizens would like the various issues faced (mentioned earlier in this article) to be addressed. From media reports, the common demands of residents and business owners include clearing footpath encroachments, enforcing road discipline, better bus connectivity to areas around the MG Road metro.
Incumbent MLA: N A Haris
N A Haris is currently looking for a fourth term as MLA from this constituency. He was elected for the first time in 2008 as a 41 year old, as a member of the Indian National Congress (INC) party. He was subsequently re-elected again in 2013 and 2018. With attendance to the assembly of 84.25%, he is among the top MLA attendees from the Bangalore constituencies. He is registered in the electoral rolls of the same constituency.
N A Haris hails from a business family and is currently the Managing Director of a diverse group of businesses, including hotels, construction, infotech, mines, energy, healthcare and education, among others – all under the Nalapad Group. He also runs a charitable trust that works mainly in education and employment, called the N.A. Haris Foundation.
As per the affidavit submitted by the MLA, there are currently 3 criminal cases pending against him, all for protests/ unlawful assembly.
He is a former Chairman of BMTC, Bangalore. He is currently the Vice President of the All India Football Federation.
He is active on social media, primarily Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.
Work in the term
On his Twitter feed, and on Facebook the MLA has indicated some of the work he has done.
- Several government schools in the constituency have been renovated and built. New facilities are being added in these campuses. He also started a Government Degree College in Shantinagar – a first since independence, with education of girls being free.
- Over 7, 000 houses for the urban poor have been built in LR Nagar.
- Overhaul of drains, filling potholes, concreting roads, laying pipelines and other civil works on many roads in the constituency. Most of these works started a couple of months ago, because, as per the MLA’s Tweet, “funds to Shantinagar were not allocated and due to rigorous requests and follow ups the funds got released as recent as 2 months ago.”
- Establishing an SWM unit in the Magrath road area.
- Development of burial grounds/final resting places of all religions that lie in the constituency.
In the news
MLA Haris was proactive during the peak times of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-21, hitting the streets to spread awareness. He demanded increased number of vaccination centres to accommodate residents of the densely populated wards in the constituency.
Just prior to COVID-19, in January 2020, he, along with others, was injured in a blast while attending a function in the constituency, and escaped with minor burns.
Much of the other news coverage about N A Haris has been for controversial reasons.
- In September 2022, his school in Mahadevapura constituency, Nalapad Academy was alleged to be encroaching on a rajakaluve, but he was reported to have said that there was no drain in the premises when it was purchased 25 years earlier.
- His son, Mohammed Haris, was booked for a hate speech in March this year.
- In May 2022, N A Haris’ MLA office was found to be built on land earmarked for a library, and he refused to answer questions that were asked in this regard. The video may be seen here.
- In February 2021, a circle in Anepalya that lies in Shantinagar constituency was named after him, without BBMP’s knowledge. It was soon reversed.
Questions raised in the Assembly
- 591 (2018-2023)
List of candidates
Incumbent MLA: N A Haris, INC
- Education: Post Graduate – MA in History from Karnataka State Open University Year 2005
- Profession: Managing Director, Nalapad Group of Companies
- Online:
- Email naharisshanthinagar@gmail.com
- Twitter @naharisblr
- Facebook @mlaharis
- Instagram @naharismla
- WhatsApp 9900009232
- Total assets: Rs 439 crores
- Political experience: Sitting MLA for three consecutive terms
Wealth declaration*
| Details | Holdings in 2018 | Holdings in 2023 | Change in % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Movable Assets | 114,59,46,142 | 167,18,89,996 | 45.9% increase |
| Immovable property | 75,88,45,000 | 272,02,09,184 | 258.5% increase |
| Total assets | 190,47,91,142 | 439,20,99,180 | 130.6% increase |
| Liabilities | 9,20,89,951 | 28,29,56,979 | 207.3% increase |
Source: https://affidavit.eci.gov.in/
Candidate: K. Shivakumar, BJP
- Education: PUC, Bharat Education Society 1994, Bangalore University
- Profession: Politician & Social Worker
- Online:
- Email kshivakumar1305@gmail.com
- Facebook @kshivakumar
- Instagram @kshivakumar1305
- Twitter @shivakumark
- WhatsApp 9845055477
- Net worth: Rs 3.62 crore
- Political experience: He belongs to a family of corporators. He himself is the ex-corporator of Vannarpet ward and was corporator of Shantala Nagar earlier (both wards lie in Shantinagar constituency).
Candidate: H. Manjunath, JD(S)
- Education: BA
- Profession: Not mentioned
- Online:
- Email hmanju89@gmail.com
- Net worth: Rs1.85 crore
- Political experience: NA
Candidate: K. Mathai, AAP
- Education: MA (Public Administration), LLB, LLM
- Profession: Retired Pension from Govt
- Online:
- Facebook @kmathaikas
- Twitter @kmathai12
- Website www.aapkamathai.in
- Total assets: Rs 3 crore
- Political experience: Has worked with politicians when serving in KAS
- Other information:
- Former roles: Lawyer, Ex-AirForce, Ex-Deputy Commissioner BBMP
- While serving in KAS, was transferred 28 times in 10 years
Full list of candidates
Past elections results
| 2018 | Candidate | Sex | Party | Age | Vote Share (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | N A Haris | M | INC | 51 | 49.2% |
| 2 | K Vasudevamurthy | M | BJP | 55 | 34.4% |
| 3 | N R Sridhar Reddy | M | JD(S) | 41 | 11.18% |
| 4 | Renuka Vishwanathan | F | AAP | 69 | 2.19% |