Shettar scores a double hatrick in Hubballi-Dharwad Central

Former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar has scored a double hatrick in Hubballi-Dharwad Central constituency by winning the seat for the sixth consecutive time. He has held onto the seat since 1994.

Shettar secured the seat in this assembly poll by beating Congress' Mahesh Nalwada who gave him a tough fight till the very end of counting. Nalawada has lost to Shettar for the second time.

This has proved that the Hubballi-Dharwad Central constituency is a BJP bastion. From 1957 when the first elections were held there, it had been a Congress bastion for four elections. Then Janata Party made it its fortress. In 1989, the seat was won again by the Congress. But since 1994, it has been with the BJP.

Another specialty of the constituency is that it has produced two chief ministers. In 1998, Janata Party's S R Bommai who represented the constituency, became the chief minister. In 2012, BJP's Jagadish Shettar was chief minister.