Elections in Southern Karnataka

Southern Karnataka

Overview

Southern Karnataka formed the territory of the Kingdom of Mysore under the Hindu Wodeyars, and remained a part of erstwhile British India under the Princely State of Mysore. Vokkaligas is one of the major community in the region,who since 1980s, have favored Former Karnataka Chief Minister Deve Gowda's JD(S). Southern Karnataka comprises of Bengaluru Urban&Rural, Mysuru, Mandya, Kodagu, Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru, Chikkaballapur, Tumkur, Ramnagara, Kolar, Hassan, Chamarajanagar, Davanagar, and Chitradurga districts of present-day Karnataka.

Historical Background

In 1799, when Tipu Sultan was defeated by the Imperial forces, Southern Karnataka came under the control of Hindu Wodeyar, who ruled the Princely State of Mysore. They ruled the Princely state up until India gained Independence in 1947, post-independence Maharaja became the first governor of the state of Mysore. Southern Karnataka was, along with other regions, part of different territories under British India, these Kannada dominated regions constituted the state of Mysore in 1956, after State Reorganisation Committee's recommendation. Vokkaligas community is the dominant community in the region, while Lingayats along with Muslims, and other backward communities constitute the remaining population of the region. The Southern Karnataka is one of the fastest developing region in Karnataka, with agriculture and IT sector forming the backbone of the region. Southern Karnataka's geographical location at the centre of Cauvery river basin, makes water accessible in abundance to the region, thus, prospering the growth of agricultural sector of the region.

Political Scenario

Congress has been an influential political party in the region amongst the backward and Muslim community as they launched programmes and schemes to benefit these communities. Congress' appeasement politics left Vokkaligas and Lingayats in search of alternative political affiliation in order to make their concerns reach the government. In the 1980s, the ascendance of Hindutva politics in the region, saw large number of Hindu sects and traditions to come under a collective society. While on the other, Vokkaligas saw Deve Gowda's JD(S) as an alternative to assert their political influence in the region. BJP has a formidable vote base amongst the hardcore Hindu groups including the Lingayats, while Congress won 24 seats out of the 50 seats in the region, during the last state assembly elections in 2013, the rest of the seats were shared between JD(S), BJP, and IND. During the upcoming elections, BJP and JD(S) would be looking to improve on their previous performance, as both the parties would be delighted to reduce Congress' vote share and assembly seats in the upcoming state assembly elections.

Issues pertaining to the region

The extensive rapid development in the region has severely affected the environment in the region, while mismanagement of water resources have created water crisis in the region in last few years. Southern Karnataka's prosperity has seen huge number of people migrating to seize the employment opportunities, but it has put stress on the resources of the region, while creating a huge population of urban poor.

Assembly Constituencies and MLAs from Southern Karnataka Region

AC. No.	Constituency	Current MLA	Party
128	Chikkanayakanahalli	C. B. Suresh Babu	JD(S)
129	Tiptur	K. Shadakshari	INC
130	Turuvekere	M. T. Krishnappa	JD(S)
131	Kunigal	D. Nagarajaiah	JD(S)
132	Tumkur City	Dr. Rafeeq Ahmed S	INC
133	Tumkur Rural	B. Suresh Gowda	BJP
134	Koratagere	P. R. Sudhakara Lal	JD(S)
135	Gubbi	S. R. Srinivas (Vasu)	JD(S)
136	Sira	T. B. Jayachandra	INC
138	Madhugiri	Kyatsandra N. Rajanna	INC
139	Gauribidanur	N. H. Shivashankara Reddy	INC
140	Bagepalli	S. N. Subbareddy	IND
141	Chikkaballapur	Dr. K. Sudhakar	INC
142	Sidlaghatta	M. Rajanna	JD(S)
143	Chintamani	J. K. Krishnareddy	JD(S)
144	Srinivaspur	K. R. Ramesh Kumar	INC
145	Mulbagal	G. Manjunath	IND
146	Kolar Gold Field	Y. Ramakka	BJP
147	Bangarapet	S. N. K. M. Narayana Swamy	INC
148	Kolar	R. Varthur Prakash	IND
149	Malur	K. S. Manjunath Gowda	JD(S)
186	Malavalli	P. M. Narendraswamy	INC
187	Maddur	D. C. Thammanna	JD(S)
188	Melukote	Vacant
189	Mandya	M. H. Ambareesh	INC
190	Srirangapatna	Vacant
191	Nagamangala	Vacant	JD(S)
192	Krishnarajpet	Narayana Gowda	JD(S)
193	Shravanabelagola	C. N. Balakrishna	JD(S)
194	Arsikere	K. M. Shivalinge Gowda	JD(S)
195	Belur	Vacant
196	Hassan	H. S. Prakash	JD(S)
197	Holenarasipur	H. D. Revanna	JD(S)
198	Arkalgud	A. Manju	INC
199	Sakleshpur	H. K. Kumaraswamy	JD(S)
210	Piriyapatna	K.Venkatesh	INC
211	Krishnarajanagara	S. R. Mahesh	JD(S)
212	Hunsur	H. P. Manjunatha	INC
213	Heggadadevankote	Vacant
214	Nanjangud	Kalale N Keshavamurthy	INC
215	Chamundeshwari	G. T. Devegowda	JD(S)
216	Krishnaraja	M. K. Somashekar	INC
217	Chamaraja	Vasu	INC
218	Narasimharaja	Tanveer Sait	INC
219	Varuna	Siddaramaiah	INC
220	T Narasipur	Dr. H. C. Mahadevappa	INC
221	Hanur	R. Narendra	INC
222	Kollegal	S. Jayanna	INC
223	Chamarajanagar	C. Puttarangashetty	INC
224	Gundlupet	M. C. Mohan Kumari Uruf Geetha	INC