Karnataka General (Lok Sabha) Elections 2014

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About Karnataka

A miner's paradise, the state was originally known as the State of Mysore and was renamed as Karnataka in 1973. Also known for its black cotton soil, Karnataka is surrounded by states like Maharashtra, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. The state boasts about a rich history and a prosperous heritage. Known as the ‘Silicon Valley' of India, over the years Karnataka has become home to millions of Information Technology (IT) professionals. Home to enchanting scenic beauty, as well as modern engineering marvels, the state is rich in minerals and also accounts to about 6% of India's surface water resources.

Member Representation at the Centre

Consisting of 28 parliamentary constituencies, politicians from Karnataka have served at the Centre in various positions. The state sends 12 members to the Rajya Sabha, along with 28 members to the Lok Sabha. The upcoming Lok Sabha elections are expected to see a fierce battle between five former Chief Ministers. Congress' Veerappa Moily and Dharam Singh, BJP's BS Yeddyurappa and Sadananada Gowda, and JD(S) supremo Deve Gowda are the big names to watch out this election.

The Ruling Party and the Constitution

Though the Governor is the constitutional head of the state the real executive power lies in the hands of the Chief Minister and his Cabinet. The current Governor of Karnataka is HR Bharadwaj. The incumbent Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, representing the Congress party, has ruled the roost since May 2013. The Congress clinched the state elections with a majority of 121 seats.

Election History

The state of Karnataka has so far witnessed 14 Assembly Elections. The state has been under the President's rule five times since its formation, but political parties continued to slug it out for the top post. The Congress party has ruled Karnataka while it was still called the State of Mysore, and continued to have a stronghold over the state. The incumbent Congress has governed the state for five terms since 1972. The first Chief Minister of Karnataka was Congress' D Devraj Urs, who served the state from 1972-1977 and 1978-1980. INC's political monopoly was broken by the Janata Party in 1985. However, the Congress fought its way back to power in 1989. Ever since, the battle for Karnataka has been fierce with parties like Janata Dal (Secular) and BJP making inroads. The upcoming polls will be the state's 16th Lok Sabha elections. The first General Elections were held in 1951. The INC represented the state in the Lok Sabha till 1991. Its great run was broken by the United Front, following which the BJP-led NDA gained prominence in the state. In the last General Elections, the NDA bagged a total number of 19 out of 28 seats in the state.

Political Parties

• Indian National Congress (INC) : The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee is a wing of the INC for the state. The party is headed by Dr. G Parameshwara. The likes of IT expert Nandan Nilekani, Union Minister Veerappa Moily, Dharam Singh, KH Muniyappa etc have been fielded by the Congress for the upcoming elections.
• Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) : Led by Pralhad Joshi , the BJP will hope to spread the Narendra Modi-wave across the state of Karnataka. The likes of BS Yeddyurappa, controversial politician Sriramulu, Anantha Kumar, Sadananda Gowda etc. will represent the BJP baton in the General Elections.
• Janata Dal (Secular) : Led by former Prime Minister, HD Deve Gowda, the JD (S) was formally formed in 1999 after it split with the Janata Dal.

Prominent Political Leaders

• Siddaramaiah : The 22nd Chief Minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah is currently leading the Congress party in the state. He was sworn in as the Chief Minister on 13 May 2013 after the party clinched a landslide victory in the Assembly Elections. A lawyer by profession, he was a part of the Deve Gowda-led JD(S) before he joined hands with the Congress in 2005 after a fallout with Gowda. He represents the Chamundeshwari constituency in Mysore.
• BS Yeddyurappa : Holding the tag of being the first Chief Minister to a south Indian state from the BJP, Yeddyurappa has had a roller-coaster political ride so far. He led the party to a landslide win in the 2008 State Assembly Elections. However, his association with the BJP hit a roadblock in 2010, when he was forced to resign from the BJP on 30 November 2012. Following which he formed the Karnataka Janata Paksha, which merged with the BJP, just months before the 16th  Lok Sabha elections.
• HD Deve Gowda : India's 11th Prime Minister and the 14th CM of Karnataka, Deve Gowda is also the President of JD(S). He is an extremely significant leader in the state. Representing the Vokkaliga community, he has always been an avid crusader for the farmers of the state. Deve Gowda started his political stint as a member of the INC for nine years. After years of political struggle, he become the President of the Janata Dal in 1994 and took the party to power. In 1996, the Narasimha Rao-led Congress lost the General Elections, which forced the United Front to form the government. Deve Gowda was nominated as the Prime Minister.

Opinion Polls 2014

Opinion Polls for the General Elections 2014 predict an outstanding performance by the Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In Karnataka, the race between the BJP and the Congress will be very close, with the former likely to clinch at least 15 seats.

Reference Links:

• The ECI website
• Karnataka Pradesh Committee website

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Election Highlights

Quick Facts

No. of PCs : 28 No. of Polling Days : 1 Polling Dates : 17 April (Phase 5) No. of Polling Stations : 24648 No. of Polling Station locations : 18627 Total Electors : 4,46,94,658 (as on 14th February 2014) Electors in Age Group 18 to 29 years : 25.14% Women Electors : 48.97% Poll Expenditure Limit per Candidate : Rs. 70 lakhs

Major issues and concerns

Right to Education : School seats reserved for children from poor families remain vacant because of discrimination and poor implementation of the Right to Education (RTE). The government has several times failed to achieve the RTE targets before the deadline. Water crisis : There is an urgent need to check water loss because of leakage in the existing connections. As per reports, about 6.5 lakh house connections have been suffering heavy leakages. Other issues Corruption, Religious polarisation

Karnataka Parliamentary Constituency Winners 2009

PC No.	PC Name	Category	Winning Candidate	Gender	Party	Total Votes
1	Chikkodi	GEN	Katti Ramesh Vishwanath	M	BJP	438081
2	Belgaum	GEN	Angadi Suresh Channabasappa	M	BJP	384324
3	Bagalkot	GEN	Gaddigoudar P.C.	M	BJP	413272
4	Bijapur	(SC)	Ramesh Chandappa Jigajinagi	M	BJP	308939
5	Gulbarga	(SC)	Mallikarjun Kharge	M	INC	345241
6	Raichur	(ST)	Pakkirappa.S.	M	BJP	316450
7	Bidar	GEN	N.Dharam Singh	M	INC	337957
8	Koppal	GEN	Shivaramagouda Shivanagouda	M	BJP	291693
9	Bellary	(ST)	J. Shantha	F	BJP	402213
10	Haveri	GEN	Udasi Shivkumar Chanabasappa	M	BJP	430293
11	Dharwad	GEN	Pralhad Joshi	M	BJP	446786
12	Uttara Kannada	GEN	Anantkumar Hegde	M	BJP	339300
13	Davanagere	GEN	Siddeswara G.M.	M	BJP	423447
14	Shimoga	GEN	B.Y. Raghavendra	M	BJP	482783
15	Udupi Chikmagalur	GEN	V.Sadananda Gowda	M	INC	401441
16	Hassan	GEN	H. D. Devegowda	M	JD(Secular)	496429
17	Dakshina Kannada	GEN	Nalin Kumar Kateel	M	BJP	499385
18	Chitradurga	(SC)	Janardhana Swamy	M	BJP	370920
19	Tumkur	GEN	G.S. Basavaraj	M	BJP	331064
20	Mandya	GEN	Cheluvaraya Swamy	M	JD(Secular)	384443
21	Mysore	GEN	Adagur H Vishwanath	M	INC	354810
22	Chamrajanagar	(SC)	R.Dhruvanarayana	M	INC	369970
23	Bangalore Rural	GEN	H.D.Kumaraswamy	M	JD(Secular)	493302
24	Bangalore North	GEN	D. B. Chandre Gowda	M	BJP	452920
25	Bangalore Central	GEN	P. C. Mohan	M	BJP	340162
26	Bangalore South	GEN	Ananth Kumar	M	BJP	437953
27	Chikkballapur	GEN	M.Veerappa Moily	M	INC	390500
28	Kolar	GEN	K.H.Muniyappa	M	INC	344771

Karnataka Assembly Elections

Parliamentary Constituencies Election Dates 2013

Assembly Election Results

State Legislative Assembly

Parliamentary Constituencies in Karnataka

PC No.	PC Name	PC No.	PC Name
1	Chikkodi	15	Udupi Chikmagalur
2	Belgaum	16	Hassan
3	Bagalkot	17	Dakshina Kannada
4	Bijapur	18	Chitradurga
5	Gulbarga	19	Tumkur
6	Raichur	20	Mandya
7	Bidar	21	Mysore
8	Koppal	22	Chamarajanagar
9	Bellary	23	Bangalore Rural
10	Haveri	24	Bangalore North
11	Dharwad	25	Bangalore Central
12	Uttara Kannada	26	Bangalore South
13	Davanagere	27	Chikkaballapur
14	Shimoga	28	Kolar

Parliamentary Constituencies of India

Andaman and Nicobar Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chandigarh Chhattisgarh Dadra and Nagar Haveli Daman and Diu

Delhi Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu And Kashmir Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala

Lakshadweep Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Orissa Pondicherry

Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamilnadu Tripura Uttarakhand Uttar Pradesh West Bengal

Last Updated on : April 19, 2014