Eye on votes, ticket aspirants offer sops to migrant communities, slum-dwellers

BENGALURU: With assembly elections round the corner, migrants settled in Bengaluru are at the centre of unprecedented attention from potential candidates.

Once the dates are announced, the model code of conduct will kick in and candidates need to stick to the Rs 27 lakh-expenditure cap set by the Election Commission. Out to beat the schedule, politicians seem to be in a rush to spend as much as possible to woo their constituents. Promises to allot properties to various community groups are being made at get-togethers with lavish spreads and cocktail parties at upscale recreation clubs.

A C Srinivas, a Congress ticket aspirant from Mahadevapura, has assured migrants from Telangana of developing a community centre, Telangana Bhavan, in his constituency if he wins. Srinivas, who lost to BJP’s Aravind Limbavali by 6,000 votes in 2013, has reached out to the Telugu-speaking community which has a significant presence in the IT sector in the state, and promised schemes that would make them feel “home” in Bengaluru.

“Actually, it’s the state government’s duty to build a community hall for those who have migrated from other states. As far as Telangana Bhavan is concerned, community leaders approached the government with the request. I’ve promised them that I will build one if I win the ensuing election and if there’s a delay in the government’s response,” said Srinivas.

Srinivas has promised to identify one acre of land in Mahadevapura to build the centre and name it Pampana Telangana Bhavan, honouring 9th century Kannada poet Adikavi Pampa.

“The objective is to build a cultural link between Karnataka and Telangana. It will serve as a centre for cultural exchange and help bridge two IT hubs of India — Bengaluru and Hyderabad,” said Sandeep Maktha, president of Kannada Rashtra Telangana Association.

Bengaluru is estimated to have over 2 lakh IT professionals from Telangana; over 30,000 are in Mahadevapura which has 4.2 lakh voters.

P Ramesh, who wants to contest from C V Raman Nagar as a Congress candidate, is wooing the Bengali community and has promised a place to celebrate Durga puja during Dasara. Bengalis are said to account for 5% of CV Raman Nagar’s electorate.

“Last year, we facilitated puja celebrations at Visvesvaraya Grounds. I want them to have a permanent place and I’ll ensure one if I win the election, though we have very few open spaces in our constituency,” said Ramesh, who organized Sneha Koota, a gettogether for various communities on Sunday.

Wooing minorities

Uday Garudachar, who is in the race for a BJP ticket from Chickpet constituency, is eyeing slum-dwellers. However, his main focus is on the Muslim community.

“It is a misconception that Muslims are averse to BJP. I want to take the poor in slums and Muslims into our fold through constructive measures. One such step is to encourage them to be entrepreneurs in micro-industries, producing handmade products and providing a market for them,” Garudachar said.

The biggest worry is whether the migrants will remain indifferent to the elections; their turnout has been poor over the years.

Let these politicians woo migrants, but their greatest challenge will be to get them to vote. Let’s see if they will be successful in bringing them to polling booths through these sops