Will BJP be able to retain its seat in Chikmagalur constituency?

Cong won 8 times while BJP could win only twice

 When Assembly election was announced six decades ago, Chikmagalur-Mudigere was a two member constituency. In the maiden election, five candidates had contested.

For the general constituency freedom fighter B L Subbamma and for the reserved constituency G Puttaswamy had won. Other candidates who had contested the elections were Lakshman Gowda (Social Party), N P Govinde Gowda (Bharathiya Janata Sangha), H M Rudrappa Shastri (independent) and B N Linganna (Bharathiya Jana Sangha).

In the election held during 1957, A M Basave Gowda (independent) had won from general constituency and L H Thimmebovi (Cong) from reserve constituency.

In 1962, B L Subbamma was once again elected as the MLA from Chikmagalur general constituency. In 1967, C M S Shastri from Praja Socialist Party and B L Subbamma were elected. In 1972, Iva Vaz (Congress) had won.

In 1978, Indira Congress candidate C A Chandre Gowda won the election. B L Subbamma who had deserted the Congress and had contested from Janata Party had to face the defeat.

In 1983, H A Narayana of Janata Party was elected. In 1985, independent candidate I B Shankar was elected. In 1989, Congress cadnidate C R Sagir Ahammed won against S V Manunath (Janata Party), H A Narayana Gowda (Janata Dal), and others.
Sagir Ahammed was once again elected in 1994 with a margin of 981 votes against CPI’s B K Sunadaresh.

Sagir Ahammed won a hat trick victory in 1999. The hat trick record which Sagir Ahamed had created had not been broken by any one in the constituency. In 2004, C T Ravi won against Sagir Ahamed with a margin of 57,165 votes. 

After the delimitation of the constituency, C T Ravi was elected as the MLA for the second term in 2008.

Chikmagalur-Mudigere constituency was once represented by a freedom fighter. A few MLAs in the past have etched their name in the minds of the people through welfare programmes. The Congress had won the constituency eight times.  The BJP had won only twice since the beginning. If the BJP wins this time, then C T Ravi can equal the record of the Sagir Ahamed.  Will he succeed? Only time will tell.

C M S Shastri who was elected from Praja Socialist Party is remembered even to this day for his contribution in the field of education.

He was responsible for the setting up of IDSG College, district hospital and Malnad Education Institute. C R Sagir Ahamed had strived for the Yagachi water project.
As a Higher Education Minister, C T Ravi was responsible for sanctioning government engineering college, medical college, polytechnic college to Aldoor and milk dairy to Chikmagalur.