Tejasvi faces stiff challenge from Sowmya in Bangalore South

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: BJP youth wing chief and current MP Tejasvi Surya, who is seeking re-election from the prestigious Bangalore South Lok Sabha seat, is facing a spirited challenge from Sowmya Reddy of the Congress.

The 41-year-old Sowmya, daughter of Minister Ramalinga Reddy, is a former MLA from Jayanagar here and lost the Assembly elections last year by a mere 16 votes.

Spread across eight Assembly constituencies, Bengaluru South has been a BJP bastion since 1991.

In the 2023 Assembly elections, the BJP won five of them and Congress in three.

In fact since 1977, Congress has won here only once when former Chief Minister late R Gundu Rao emerged victorious in the 1989 elections. A constituency with a significant Brahmin population, it had been represented mostly by members of the community.

Hoping to turn the tide against the BJP, the ruling Congress in Karnataka has put all its might behind Sowmya with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar leaving no stone unturned to boost her electoral prospects