Old not gold in Bangalore, voters elect young MLAs

YOUNG GUNS: BJPs young first timers have defeated heavy weight Congress candidates in Bangalore.

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Rajdeep Sardesai

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Keywords: Karnataka, MLAs, BJP, Assembly Elections 2008

Bangalore: The Karnataka Assembly results threw up some surprises and also some young Turks. More than two-dozen young and new faces have made it to the state Assembly.

Dinesh Gundurao, the 39-year-old Congress MLA from Gandhinagar in Bangalore has already won three elections in a row. He feels his age gives him an edge over the old warhorses.

"People prefer young faces because we react quickly. We can do a lot more than the old people," Gundurao says.

There have been similar stories in the just concluded Assembly polls.

Out of the 36 seats in and around Bangalore, nearly 28 MLAs are below the age of 50. The average age of MLAs is just 45, perhaps the lowest in the country.

A few names who have made it to that list include:

• HD Kumaraswamy of Janata Dal (Secular) gets a second term and he is 47. He won from Ramanagaram.
• Congress's DK Shivakumar is into his fifth term and he too is 47. He won from Kanakapura.
• Byatarayanapura MLA Krishna Byregowda of Congress have been voted in for the third time and he is just 35.
• Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Bommanahalli, M Satish Reddy, is a first time MLA and is only 36.

Nearly 70 per cent voters in Bangalore are below 45 years and the BJP has benefited the most from this.

Its young first timers have defeated heavy weight Congress candidates in the city.

One such giant killer is M Satish Reddy.

"People want youngsters because they want energetic MLAs," Reddy says.

The Bangalore voters have sent a strong message to all political parties in this election.

The message is very clear. If they want to win and increase their tally, they will have to field more and more young faces. Old is not gold at least in Bangalore politics.