Karnataka Elections 2023: Veeranna Somanna vs Siddaramiah - battle of the bigwigs in Varuna

Karnataka Elections 2023: Veeranna Somanna from BJP who currently serves as the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Development Department of Karnataka from August 4, 2021, is contesting against former chief minister Siddaramaiah of Congress in Varuna constituency. The other key candidate in the race from Varuna is former MLA Dr Bharathi Shankar of JD(S).  

Who is Veeranna Somanna? Here is all you need to know

Contesting from the Varuna constituency Veeranna Somanna has been elected as MLA for five times and served two terms as a member of the Legislative Council of the state. Born on July 20, 1951, at Doddamaralavadi village in Kanakapura Taluk of Ramanagara, he was first elected as the MLA from Janata Dal in 1994 and then severed as Prison and Urban Development Minister in 1996 during the Congress-led government. Veeranna was then elected as MLA from Govindarajanagar.

V Somanna studied at VV Pura Evening College of Arts and Commerce in 1974 and was also the leader of the student body during his college days. He stepped into politics after he was elected as a Member of Bengaluru Mahanagara Palika in 1983. He worked there as a member and Chairman of various standing committees.

Varuna constituency

Varuna is among one of the 224 constituencies of Karnataka. Part of the Chamarajanagar Lok Sabha constituency, it was formed following the delimitation process in 2008.

Karnataka Election 2023: Background and full schedule

The Karnataka Legislative Assembly's term is set to expire on May 24, 2023. The Election Commission has scheduled the date of polling as May 10, 2023, Wednesday. The vote counting will be done on May 13, 2023, Saturday.

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Karnataka Polls in 2018: Assembly composition

In the 2018 elections, the BJP emerged as the largest party with 104 seats, up from its 2013 tally of just 40 seats. The Congress dropped from 122 seats to 80, while JD (S) slid from 40 seats to 38 during the same period.

In such a hung situation, the JD (S) became the kingmaker and formed a coalition government with the Congress. The JD’s (S) HD Kumaraswamy became the chief minister for his second term. However, the government was short-lived, as in 2019, 15 MLAs from the JD(S) and the Congress put down their papers, triggering a bypoll.

In the bypoll, the BJP added another 12 MLAs to its tally, and formed the government with BS Yediyurappa swearing in as the chief minister of the state for his fourth term. The veteran, however, had to step down due to party differences, and his party’s Basavaraj Bommai took over as the new chief minister on July 28, 2021. At present, the BJP has 113 seats, the Congress (74), JD (S) 27, and 10 seats are vacant in the legislative assembly.    

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