Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka, has four Lok Sabha constituencies. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to win in Bengaluru, with Tejasvi Surya, P.C. Mohan, Shobha Karandlaje, and C.N. Manjunath as strong contenders. However, the Congress party has also fielded competitive candidates and is actively campaigning for a victory. Historically, Congress has had a significant influence on the urban population in the IT hub. For example, Congress last won the Bengaluru South constituency in 1989 with R Gundu Rao as the candidate. Since then, BJP's Ananth Kumar held the seat until 2014, when Tejasvi Surya took over.
In Bengaluru North, Congress last won in 1999 with C.K. Jaffer as the candidate. Subsequently, BJP leaders Sangliana, Chandre Gowda, and Sadananda Gowda have been elected. For the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Tejasvi Surya represents BJP in Bengaluru South, while Soumya Reddy is the Congress candidate. In Bengaluru Central, P.C. Mohan from BJP has been undefeated for three terms, facing competition from Congress candidate Mansoor Ali Khan.
Bengaluru Rural, previously known as Kanakapura, has been primarily held by Janata Dal (Secular) or Congress. The upcoming elections feature BJP supporting Dr. C.N. Manjunath and Congress backing D.K. Suresh. Political analyst Harish Ramaswamy observes that Bengaluru has experienced more development under BJP's governance. The city's exposure to BJP's central campaigning and the communicative leadership in various constituencies have influenced this perception. Congress, apart from S.M. Krishna's tenure, has not focused significantly on Bengaluru's progress.
Despite recent efforts led by D.K. Shivakumar, winning over Bengaluru voters may prove challenging due to their emphasis on civic issues like infrastructure and the current water crisis.
