By Shri Ram Shaw
Karnataka is the largest state in south India based on area. The state is usually classified into 5 distinct parts for analysing electoral politics.
1. Old Mysuru Region
2. Bombay Karnataka
3. Hyderabad Karnataka
4. Coastal Karnataka
5. Bengaluru
Karnataka has three main political parties vying for power.
1. Indian National Congress
2. Bharatiya Janata Party
3. Janata Dal (Secular)
Karnataka is currently ruled by Indian National Congress under the leadership of Siddaramaiah. Bharatiya Janata Party and JD(S) are the Opposition parties. The last Assembly Elections happened in 2013 and the next election is due on May 12.
Karnataka has 224 Assembly constituencies. Any party requires 113 seats to form the Government. The current strength of the ruling party Congress is 124. The Opposition parties BJP and JD(S) have 44 and 39 seats respectively.
Partywise Distribution of Assembly Seats
Indian National Congress – 124
Bharatiya Janata Party – 44
Janata Dal (Secular) – 39
Independents – 9
BSR Congress – 3
Karnataka Janata Paksha – 2
Karnataka Makkala Paksha – 1
Sarvodaya Karnataka Paksha – 1 (vacant – MLA expired recently)
Regions of Karnataka and Assembly Seat Distribution
1. Old Mysuru – 88 seats
2. Bombay Karnataka – 50 seats
3. Hyderabad Karnataka – 39 seats
4. Bengaluru – 28 seats
5. Coastal Karnataka – 19 seats
Total – 224 seats
Districts of Bombay Karnataka Region and Number of Assembly Constituencies
1. Belagavi – 18 seats
2. Bagalkote – 7 seats
3. Gadag – 4 seats
4. Haveri – 6 seats
5. Dharwad – 7 seats
6. Vijayapura – 8 seats
Total – 50 seats
Districts of Coastal Karnataka Region and Number of Assembly Constituencies
1. Uttara Kannada – 6 seats
2. Dakshina Kannada – 8 seats
3. Udupi – 5 seats
Total – 19 seats
Districts of Hyderabad Karnataka and Number of Assembly Constituencies
1. Bidar – 6 seats
2. Kalaburagi – 9 seats
3. Raichur – 7 seats
4. Yadgir – 4 seats
5. Koppala – 5 seats
6. Ballari – 8 seats
Total – 39 seats
Districts of Old Mysuru – Number of Assembly Seats
Mysuru – 12
Chamarajanagar – 5
Tumakuru – 11
Kolara – 6
Chikkaballapura – 5
Shivamogga – 7
Chikkamagaluru – 5
Davanagere – 8
Mandya – 7
Ramanagara – 4
Kodagu – 2
Chitradurga – 6
Hassan – 7
Bengaluru Rural – 3
Total – 88
Bengaluru has 28 out of 224 Assembly constituencies of Karnataka. It can be considered a unique electoral region since its trends are slightly different from the rest of old Mysuru region, where it falls.
Assembly Constituencies of Bengaluru
1. Yelahanka
2. Krishna Raja Pura
3. Byatarayanapura
4. Yashwantpura
5. Rajarajeshwari Nagara
6. Mahalakshmi Layout
7. Dasarahalli
8. Malleshwara
9. Hebbala
10. Pulakeshi Nagara
11. Sarvagna Nagara
12. Shivajinagara
13. Shantinagara
14. Gandhinagara
15. Rajajinagara
16. CV Raman Nagara
17. Govindarajanagara
18. Vijayanagara
19. Chamarajapete
20. Chikkapete
21. Basavanagudi
22. BTM Layout
23. Padmanabhanagara
24. Jayanagara
25. Bommanahalli
26. Mahadevapura
27. Bengaluru South
28. Anekal
Party wise performance in Bengaluru – 2008 Assembly Elections
Total – 28 seats
BJP – 17 seats
Congress – 10 seats
JD(S) – 1 seat
Party wise performance in Bengaluru – 2013 Assembly Elections
Total – 28 seats
BJP – 12 seats
Congress – 13 seats
JD(S) – 3 seats
The erstwhile JD(S) leader Zameer Ahmed Khan, who was elected as MLA both in 2008 and 2013 Assembly Elections, has switched over to Congress this time around.
Will it be a complete two-way battle between Congress and BJP, or does JD(S) still have a chance without him?
Constituencies which saw swing from 2008 to 2013
KR Pura – BJP(2008) – Congress(2013)
Yashwantpura – BJP(2008), Congress(2013)
Rajarajeshwarinagara – BJP(2008), Congress (2013)
Mahalakshmi Layout – Congress(2008), JDS(2013)
Pulakeshinagar – Congress(2008), JDS(2013)
Govindarajanagara – BJP(2008), Congress(2013)
Chickpet – BJP(2008), Congress(2013)
Anekal – BJP(2008), Congress (2013)
Hindusthan Samachar/Shri Ram Shaw
