Lok Sabha 2019 constituency: BJP is looking to wrest Karnataka’s Bellary seat from Congress
Voting for the Lok Sabha election in Karnataka will be held in two phases on April 18 and April 23. The results will be declared on May 23.
Bellary, known for its rich mineral reserves, is one of the 28 parliamentary constituencies in Karnataka and is reserved for members of Scheduled Tribes.
The stronghold of the Congress was snatched by the Bharatiya Janata Party for the first time in 2004. Gali Karunakara Reddy, the elder of the mining baron Reddy brothers, won the seat for the BJP that year. The ruling party at the Centre lost it to VS Ugrappa of the Congress in a by-poll held in 2018 after B Sreeramalu gave up the Lok Sabha seat after winning the Molakalmuru assembly constituency in Chitradurga.
The constituency was in the news in 1999 when UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi defeated BJP leader Sushma Swaraj but soon vacated the seat, leading to a by-election. It was won by the Congress.
Voting for the Lok Sabha election in Karnataka will be held in two phases on April 18 and April 23. The results will be declared on May 23.
READ: All about Lok Sabha elections 2019
Here are a few details about the Bellary Lok Sabha seat:
State: Karnataka
Name of the Lok Sabha constituency: Bellary
Polling date: April 23
2019 candidates: Y Devendrappa (BJP), VS Ugrappa (Congress)
Sitting MP, party: B. Sreeramulu, BJP
Winning margin in 2014: 85,144
Runner up name, party: N.Y. Hanumantappa, Congress
Number of voters in 2014: 1,045,772
Percentage of votes polled in 2014: 70.28%
Number of women voters in 2014: 737,156
Number of polling booths in 2014: 1,693