In RR Nagar, Cong sees fight beyond Assembly polls to unseat Munirathna

The money and muscle power that oils the political machine of Rajarajeshwarinagar constituency came to the fore on Saturday evening when workers of a political party were beaten up near the Yeshwantpur Police Station, three days before the poll.

Prior to its formation, Rajarajeshwarinagar segment was part of the Uttarahalli constituency that had been a stronghold of the BJP, electing R Ashoka three times. When the saffron party’s M Srinivas won the election in 2008, it was seen as the continuation of that order.

Since riding the anti-incumbency to defeat BJP in 2013, Munirathna has not only come a full circle by jumping to the saffron party but also widened his victory margin from 18,826 votes to 57,936 in the 2020 bypolls when he defeated Kusuma, the Congress candidate. The JD(S) has been an under-performer, taking the third position in all but one election.

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In her second attempt to dethrone Munirathna, Kusuma has started her work in the constituency months before the election call. Kusuma is being projected as a strong and educated Vokkaliga woman with roots in Rajarajeshwarinagar fighting the outsider Munirathna.

Beyond Assembly

For the Congress, wooing the 4.85 lakh voters of RR Nagar goes beyond the Assembly polls as the segment will play a crucial role in deciding the fate of its candidate in parliamentary polls for the Bangalore Rural segment currently held by D K Suresh.

Suresh, along with his brother and party chief D K Shivakumar, has been showing a special interest to wrest the constituency from Munirathna.

Besides the campaigns, special video clips have been released where Shivakumar held hands with Siddaramaiah while seeking votes.

While the local Congress leaders believe there is tough fight ahead, the BJP leaders expect a smooth sail for Munirathna. However, the incidents of clashes between the workers from the two parties indicate a fierce fight, which was not expected till two weeks ago.

Kusuma has been accusing the BJP leaders, including the former corporators, of intimidating and harassing the Congress workers. Prior to the registration of the FIR in the Yashwantpur police station, she showed video clips to complain that police stood as mute spectators while her workers were beaten up.

Munirathna has faced several cases over the last few years, when he was booked along with others after nearly 10,000 electoral identity cards were seized from an apartment. Recently, the contractors had made allegations against him.

Within the constituency, however, the number of people who openly speak up against the MLA are very few. Rudresh, a resident of Kempegowda Nagar near Laggere told this reporter, “Regardless of who wins, we here feel it’s better not to speak about those in power. It doesn’t make any difference anyway,” he said.