Bhatkal Assembly constituency
| Bhatkal | |
|---|---|
| Constituency No. 79 for the Karnataka Legislative Assembly | |
 | |
| Constituency details | |
| Country | India |
| Region | South India |
| State | Karnataka |
| District | Uttara Kannada |
| Lok Sabha constituency | Uttara Kannada |
| Established | 1966 |
| Total electors | 222,794[1] |
| Reservation | None |
| Member of Legislative Assembly | |
| 16th Karnataka Legislative Assembly | |
| Incumbent | |
| Party | Indian National Congress |
| Elected year | 2023 |
| Preceded by | Sunil Biliya Naik |
Bhatkal Assembly constituency is one of the 224 Legislative Assembly constituencies of Karnataka in India.[2] It is part of Uttara Kannada district.
The constituency is infamous for Communal tensions due to notable presence of Hindutva groups and Islamic fundamentalism.[3][4]
In April 10, 1996 a sitting Member of the Legislative Assembly from this constituency was assassinated by gunfire.[5][6]
Electorate
The constituency has around 2.15 lakhs votes. Nearly 1.6 lakh voters i.e. more than 70% of vote base are Hindus, followed by Muslims at nearly 55,000 who are 25.4% and Christians at 7300 forming 3.4% of the electorate. Among Hindu vote base the single major group is Namdharis constituting about 70,000 votes.[7] The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes forms 10.1% of the electorate with nearly 22,000 votes.
Members of the Legislative Assembly
Mysore State
| Year | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1966: Constituency did not exist. See Honnavar | |||
| 1967 | J. M. Manjunath | Praja Socialist Party | |
| 1972 | S. M. Yahya Siddika Umar | Indian National Congress | |
Karnataka
| Year[8] | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Siddiq Mohamed Yahya Bin Umer | Indian National Congress (Indira) | |
| 1983 | Rama Narayan Naik | Janata Party | |
| 1985 | |||
| 1989 | Indian National Congress | ||
| 1994 | Dr. U. Chittaranjan | Bharatiya Janata Party | |
| 1996^ | Shivanand Naik | ||
| 1999 | J. D. Naik | Indian National Congress | |
| 2004 | Shivanand Naik | Bharatiya Janata Party | |
| 2008 | J. D. Naik | Indian National Congress | |
| 2013 | M. S. Vaidya | Independent politician | |
| 2018 | Sunil Biliya Naik | Bharatiya Janata Party | |
| 2023 | M. S. Vaidya | Indian National Congress | |
^by-election
Election results
2023
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| INC | M. S. Vaidya | 100,442 | 57.45 | +10.89 | |
| BJP | Sunil Biliya Naik | 67,771 | 38.76 | −11.38 | |
| NOTA | None of the Above | 1,223 | 0.7 | −0.50 | |
| Majority | 32,671 | 18.69 | +15.11 | ||
| Turnout | 174,848 | 78.48 | +1.23 | ||
| INC gain from BJP | Swing | ||||
2018
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BJP | Sunil Biliya Naik | 83,172 | 50.14 | ||
| INC | M. S. Vaidya | 77,242 | 46.56 | ||
| NOTA | None of the Above | 1,986 | 1.20 | ||
| Majority | 5,930 | 3.58 | |||
| Turnout | 1,65,886 | 77.25 | |||
| BJP gain from Independent | Swing | ||||
See also
References
- ^ a b "Karnataka Legislative Assembly Election - 2023". eci.gov.in. Election Commission of India. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
- ^ "Karnataka Loksabha Elections - 2019 - Voters Count" (PDF). ceokarnataka.kar.nic.in. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ "From communal harmony to terror infamy: How Bhatkal became a constant on intel agencies' radar". Hindustan Times. 19 September 2021. Archived from the original on 14 August 2024. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
- ^ "Offensive charm". Telegraph.
- ^ Dev, Arun (10 March 2018). "The Forgotten Political Murder That Changed Bhatkal's Fate Forever". TheQuint. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
- ^ Nanjappa, Vicky. "How placid Bhatkal turned into a communal hotspot". Rediff. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
- ^ "Karnataka polls: In 'terror-tainted' Bhatkal, Hindu-Muslim divide polarises voters as well as decides candidates". Firstpost. 6 May 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
- ^ "Bhatkal Election and Results 2018, Candidate list, Winner, Runner-up, Current MLA and Previous MLAs". Elections in India. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
- ^ "Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023: Bhatkal". Election Commission of India. 13 May 2023. Archived from the original on 26 April 2025. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
- ^ "Karnataka Legislative Assembly Election - 2018". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 4 February 2021.