K M Shivalinge Gowda, an MLA from Arsikere constituency belonging to JD(S), has tendered his resignation to the Legislative Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri.
This move comes before the upcoming May 10 Assembly elections in Karnataka. It is speculated that Gowda may join the Congress party.
In recent days, Gowda, a three-time MLA from Arsikere in Hassan district, has distanced himself from the JD(S) party, citing disagreements with its leadership. He has been vocal about these differences and has kept his distance from the party.
Gowda has indicated he may join Congress
It has been announced by him recently that he will be moving towards the Congress party and is expected to contest from Arsikere constituency in the upcoming polls as a candidate of the Congress party, news agency PTI reported.
In the past few days, Gowda has become the third MLA from JD(S) to resign from their position.
Earlier, Gubbi MLA S R Srinivas (also known as Gubbi Srinivas alias Vasu) had resigned on March 27 and joined the Congress on Thursday, while the MLA from Arkalgud A T Ramaswamy had resigned from his position on Friday to join the BJP.
More about Arsikere constituency
Arsikere (Gen) is a constituency in the state assembly/vidhan sabha located in the southern region of Karnataka, specifically in the Hassan district. It is a part of the larger Hassan parliamentary/lok sabha constituency.
The constituency has a total of 204,911 registered voters, which includes general voters, NRI voters, and service voters. Among the general voters, there are 103,152 males, 101,604 females, and 7 voters of other genders. The sex ratio of the electorate in this constituency is 98.36 and the estimated literacy rate is 79%.
Past election results
In 2018 election, Shivalinge Gowda had defeated Congress' G.B. Shashidhara by a huge margin. While Shashidhara managed to poll 29.08% votes, Gowda polled 54.34% votes.
During the 2013 Karnataka Assembly Elections, JD(S) secured this seat with 48.2% of the total votes polled, winning by a margin of 29,631 votes (18.65%). The voter turnout in that election was 80.5%.
In the 2008 Assembly Elections, JD(S) won this seat with a margin of 34,226 votes (24.56%) and secured 53.12% of the votes polled. During the 2018 elections, the voter turnout for this seat was 82.29%.
