In the last three Assembly elections, the Congress has performed better than the BJP in the district of Bengaluru Urban, which has 28 seats. Nonetheless, the BJP has a minor advantage in the urban hub because to the 2017 defections that led to the collapse of the H D Kumaraswamy-led JD(S) and Congress coalition government.
Despite having a slight advantage, the BJP has lost momentum in Bengaluru Urban over the past three elections, winning 17 of the 28 seats in 2008, 12 in 2013, and 11 in 2018. 10 seats were added to the Congress in 2008, 13 in 2013, and 15 in 2018. Apart from JD(SK )’s Gopalaiah, whose electorate Mahalakshmi Layout also falls inside Bengaluru Urban, three of these Congress MLAs—S T Somashekar (Yeshwantpur), Byrati Basavaraju (Krishnarajapuram), and Muniratna (Rajarajeshwarinagar)—jumped ship to the BJP in 2019.
The 17 MLAs who defected went on to win byelections on BJP tickets to save their seats, bringing the party’s total in Bengaluru district up to 15 from 11. Currently, they appear to be providing the BJP a boost in Bengaluru, particularly Gopalaiah and Muniratna, who have solid support in their respective districts.
The first list of 124 candidates for the House, which was released a few days ago, includes 16 of the district’s 24 candidates. Two of the three seats it lost in 2019 are among the remaining seats.According to Karnataka BJP insiders, the party may not grant a ticket to MLAs who have held ministerial positions and is expected to run “a few fresh faces as it attempts to replace some of its old guard.”