Karnataka elections: Gubbi Assembly constituency

Gubbi is an assembly constituency in the Tumakuru district and the hometown of Kannada theatre's most prolific contributors, Padmashree Gubbi Veeranna who was also called Nataka Ratna. He established the drama company, ""Gubbi Sree Channabasaveshwara Nataka Company"", which played a crucial role in promoting the Kannada theatre field.

The folk tale says, the town got its name from the two little sparrows (sparrow means Gubbi). Gubbi is also famous for its temples. Sri Gubbi Channabasaveshwara Temple is famous for its legendray tales in the lingyat community. Beterayaswamy Temple is another important templel in the town.

Gubbi, thanks to its connectivity, is a major business hub for neighbouring villages and towns. Description of the Gubbi Town in the early/mid 19th century is narrated by William Arthur in his book A Mission to the Mysore, with Scenes and Facts Illustrative of India, its People, and its Religion, published in 1847.

He records that the people traded items such as coffee, grains, betel-nut, etc, which were purchased from Nuggur (Bednore) and sold in the markets of Bangalore and Wallajanuggur (Vellore).

The town of Goobbee (British Era) had two main streets, intersected with minor streets. At one end of the mud fort, there lived the rich merchants. On the other side of the village lived the lower caste people, which was avoided by the higher caste. There was a clear de-demarkation between the higher castes and the lower castes, with the higher caste people refusing to cross into what they considered as a 'polluted land'.

Chi. Udayashankar, Nirmalananda Swamiji, G. S. Paramashivaiah are other prominent personalities from the constituency.

S R Shrinivas (Vasu) from the JDS is the current legislator from the constituency, he defeated G.N. Bettaswamy of KJP.

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