Did you know the first by-election in Mandya was held in 1968
Bengaluru, Oct 30: Mandya Lok Sabha constituency has witnessed three byelections so far. The by-elections have propelled prominent political figures to the state and national political theater. Comprising eight Assembly segments - Malavalli, Maddur, Melkote, Mandya, Srirangapatna, Nagamangala and K.R. Pet in Mandya district, and Krishnarajanagar in Mysore district - the Mandya Lok Sabha constituency was considered a safe seat for the Congress until former PM HD Deve Gowda-led JD(S) snatched the seat twice in 2009 and 2014.
1968 byelection:
For
the
first
time,
byelection
for
the
Lok
Sabha
seat
was
held
in
1968
after
Congress
MP
MK
Shivanjappa
passed
away.
He
was
Congress
MP
for
two
full
terms
(1952,
1957,
1962
and
1967).
SM
Krishna,
who
later
rose
to
prominence
in
Congress
party,
contested
from
Praja
Socialist
Party.
It
was
founded
when
the
Socialist
Party,
led
by
Jayprakash
Narayan,
Acharya
Narendra
Deva
and
Basawon
Singh
(Sinha),
merged
with
the
Kisan
Mazdoor
Praja
Party
led
by
J.B.
Kripalani
(former
president
of
the
Indian
National
Congress
and
a
close
associate
of
Jawaharlal
Nehru).
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1998 byelection:
The second by-election was held in 1998, actor-turned-politician MH Ambareesh contested as Janata Dal candidate. He defeated Congress candidate G.Made Gowda. Ambareesh successfully contested from the Congress in 1999 and 2004. He became Minister of State, in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, from 24 October 2006 to 2008. However, resigned protesting against the injustice done to Karnataka by Kaveri dispute tribunal in 2008.
2013 byelection:
In 2013, in an interesting byelection, actor-turned-politician Ramya/Divya Spandana from the Congress defeated JDS candidate CS Puttaraju by 67,611 votes. The bypoll was held after JDS leader Cheluvarayaswamy resigned as MP to return to state politics.
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Mandya district is considered the 'heartland of Vokkaligas' is going for bypolls after sitting MP CS Puttaraju returned to state politics. This time, JD has fielded former MLA LR Shivarame Gowda. The byelections in Mandya have introduced leaders who can create space for themselves in national and state politics. Only voters can decide whether Shivarame Gowda will also join the league.