Udupi-Chikmagalur Lok Sabha seat: A stronghold of BJP

Udupi-Chikmagalur Lok Sabha Constituency, is a blend of coastal and mountainous regions, a confluence of diverse cultures, customs, and languages. This constituency has been a stronghold of the BJP since its formation in 2009.

Reviewing recent electoral history from 2009 to 2019, which includes three general elections and one by-election after delimitation, Congress emerged victorious in the by-election, while BJP secured the general elections.

The constituencies of Kundapur, Udupi, Karkala, Kapu, Sringeri, Mudigere, Chikkamagaluru, and Tarikere in the Chikkamagaluru district fall under this Lok Sabha constituency. Votes from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Billava, Banta, Mogaveera, Okkaliga, and Minorities hold significance here.

Established in 2009, the Udupi-Chikmagalur Lok Sabha constituency includes four Assembly constituencies each in Udupi and Chikkamagaluru districts. In 2019, BJP held four Karnataka Assembly seats in the Udupi district, and this has remained unchanged this time around too. However, the scenario shifted in the four constituencies of Chikkamagaluru. In the 2023 Assembly elections, the Congress wrested Chikkamagaluru, Tarikere, and Mudigere, with only Sringeri remaining with the BJP.

In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, DV Sadananda Gowda of BJP won against Jayaprakash Hegde of Congress by a margin of 27,018 votes, subsequently, he became the Chief Minister of the state, necessitating a by-election. In the 2012 by-election, Jayaprakash Hegde of Congress triumphed over V Sunil Kumar of BJP.

In the 2014 elections, Shobha Karandlaje secured victory against Jayaprakash Hegde of Congress, followed by another win in 2019 against the Congress-JDS candidate Pramod Madhwaraj.

Notably, Udupi-Chikmagalur has consistently elected woman representatives, with Shobha Karandlaje winning in 2014 and 2019. Manorama Madhwaraj also secured victory for the BJP in 2004 when Udupi was a separate constituency, becoming the first and only woman representative elected to Parliament from Udupi. Similarly, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and D K Taradevi were victorious in the Chikmagalur constituency.

In earlier years, when Udupi was a separate constituency, R Ranganath Shenoy won in 1971, T A Pai in 1977, and Oscar Fernandes secured the seat for Congress for five terms from 1980 to 1996. In 1998, I M Jayarama Shetty won from BJP, and Vinayakumar Sorake brought the constituency back to Congress in 1999. Manorama Madhwaraj became MP from the BJP in 2004.

The Chikmagalur was under the Hassan Lok Sabha constituency during the first elections in 1952. Later, in 1967, Chikmagalur became an independent Lok Sabha constituency. H. Siddananjappa of Congress (1952-1962), M. Huchegowda of Praja Socialist Party (1967), D B Chandre Gowda as  NCJ candidate (1971) and as Congress candidate (1977) represented this constituency in Lok Sabha. Indira Gandhi secured victory her in 1978, followed by D M Puttegowda in 1980 and 1989. D K Taradevi represented the constituency in 1984 and 1991. B L Shankar from Janata Dal claimed victory in 1996, while D. C. Srikantappa from BJP held the seat from 1998 to 2004.

Translated from Kannada article by Raju Kharvi Koderi