Karnataka polls: The real estate lobby and the richest candidates

Bangalore: The real estate lobby entered the Karnataka state politics in the late 90s. CNN-IBN takes a look at some of the richest candidates in the fray for this year's Assembly polls, many of them from the real estate business.

Priyakrishna is the richest candidate in the fray and also one of the youngest. When he successfully contested an Assembly by-poll at the age of 25, his declared assets value was over Rs 750 crore. At 29, he is now seeking a second term on a Congress ticket from Govindarajanagar in Bangalore.

The source of his riches is real estate. His father M Krishnappa, who is popularly known as Layout Krishnappa, is also the Congress MLA from neighbouring Vijayanagara. Layout Krishnappa started off as a real estate tycoon who later entered politics to protect the family's booming business. "There are enough people with money and many without it too. Ultimately it's the support of the people that really matters," Priyakrishna said.

Priyakrishna is the richest candidate in the fray and also one of the youngest.

The symbiotic relationship between real estate and politics cuts across all political parties. BJP's young MLAs Nandish Reddy, Satish Reddy and SR Vishwanath are also linked to real estate in the prosperous parts of the city. BJP spokesperson S Prakash said, "Bangalore has a huge real estate market and seats are also decided on it. Every one wants to use this to contest."

The real estate lobby entered Karnataka politics in the late 90s. The IT city tag and booming real estate made many people crorepatis overnight. Instead of supporting other politicians, real estate tycoons themselves started contesting elections. The alleged sale of tickets to such moneybags has led to protests by candidates who have been overlooked. Congress member Shashidhar said, "They take money. There has been injustice with some candidates. I felt something fishy with this deal."

Nearly 50 per cent of Bangalore's real estate is directly or indirectly controlled by politicians. So will this year's elections spell a different story or will money power once again muscle its way to the seat of power?

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Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/karnataka-polls-the-real-estate-lobby-and-the-richest-candidates/384733-37-64.html

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