Karnataka Elections 2023: All You Need To Know About Shravanabelagola Constituency

With the Karnataka assembly elections just around the corner, we are bringing to your notice, information on all the major constituencies of the state. The Shravanabelagola Assembly constituency in the Hassan district is of particular importance because of the cultural and religious significance of the region. The historic city of Shravanabelagola is one of the major Jain religious centres of the state. The monolithic idol of Gommateswara Murti, established by Chavundaraya in Vindhyagiri here, is famous all over the world. Carved of a single block of granite and standing tall at 57 feet, it is one of the tallest monolithic statues in the world, second only to the Great Sphinx of Giza.

There are many educational institutions, including engineering and polytechnic colleges, run by Jain Math. There are Jain and Srivaishnava research centres. Although it is close to the highway, there is no direct bus service from Bangalore. The railway line connecting Hassan to Shravanabelagola has been completed recently.

CS Puttegowda from the Janata Dal (Secular) JDS contested from this constituency in 2004 and 2008. In 2013, however, he quit JD(S) and contested with a Congress ticket but lost to CN Balakrishna from JD(S). In the 2018 Vidhan Sabha elections, CN Balakrishna defeated C S Puttegowda once again by a huge margin of 50,000 votes and is now the sitting MLA from the constituency. Being a JD(S) stronghold, both BJP and Congress are trying to establish themselves in the Shravanabelagola Assembly constituency.

Talking about the candidates, sitting MLA CN Balakrishna, who has contested and won two consecutive elections from this constituency, will be fielded by JDS this time as well. From the Congress, CS Puttegowda, along with former minister H.C. Srikanthaiah’s son H.S. Vijay Kumar, are strong contenders for the ticket.

BJP has no strong candidate in this constituency, currently held by JD(S). Anati Anand is likely to enter the fray with a BJP ticket this time.

Talking about demographics, it is interesting to note that the number of female voters is higher than males here. There are 1,06,029 male voters and 1,06,041 female voters in the Sravanabelagola constituency with a total of 2,12,070 voters.

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