Karnataka assembly election: The people of Karnataka will vote on May 12. Counting is on May 15
Highlights
- Shirahatti is named after a panchayat town in Gadag district
- It has managed to vote for the winning party in the state and centre
- Its streak has continued for seven assembly and five Lok Sabha elections
One assembly seat in Karnataka has managed to remain the bellwether seat for a dozen elections -- assembly and Lok Sabha -- and is the most watched seat in the state. Shirahatti, named after a panchayat town in central Karnataka's Gadag district -- has managed to vote for the winning party in the state and centre. Its streak has continued for seven assembly and five Lok Sabha elections.
Shirahatti is the topmost of the eight bellwether seats that have managed to gauge which way the wind blows.
Shirahatti is followed by Yelburga, also in central Karnataka, which got the winning party right five times.
Six other seats voted for the winning party in four
assembly elections in the state.
Assembly elections will be held in Karnataka on May 12, in which the Congress, led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, is hoping for a second term.
It is being given a tough fight by the BJP, which is trying to recapture power in the only southern state it ever ruled.
The BJP campaign is being led by BS Yeddyurappa, its best known face in the state. The 75-year-old was the Chief Minister of the state's BJP government till he had to step down following corruption charges and formed his own party in 2013.
The poll of polls -- an average of the seats given to each party by the opinion polls -- over the last two months has given 94 seats to the Congress and 84 to the BJP -- well short of the 113 seats required for majority in the 224-member assembly.