Lok Sabha 2019 constituency: Old rivalry between two families comes to fore in Koppal

Koppal is one of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka. There are eight assembly segments in the Koppal Lok Sabha constituency. Karadi Sanganna of the BJP is the sitting MP.

Sanganna won the 2014 parliamentary polls by defeating Basavaraj Hitnal of the Congress. Sanganna defeated Hitnal by over 30,000 votes. The 2019 Lok Sabha elections is also a Sanganna vs Hitnal fight , though up against the sitting MP this time is Basavaraj’s son, Rajashekar Hitnal.

Sanganna is a Lingayat, a community which is a dominant force in Koppal. Rajashekar is an OBC and will bank on the community’s support to prevail over Sanganna. Koppal has been a Congress stronghold for years but the party lost its grip in the constituency since the 2009 general elections. The BJP won both in 2009 and 2014.

Voting for the Lok Sabha election in Karnataka will be held in two phases on April 18 and April 23. The results will be declared on May 23.

Here are a few details about the Koppal Lok Sabha seat:

State: Karnataka

Name of the Lok Sabha constituency: Koppal

2019 candidates: Karadi Sanganna Amarappa of BJP, Rajashekar Hitnal of Congress

Polling date: April 23

Sitting MP, party: Karadi Sanganna Amarappa, BJP

Winning margin in 2014: 32,414

Runner up name, party: Basavaraj Hitnal, Congress

Number of voters in 2014: 1006508

Percentage of votes polled in 2014: 65.5%

Number of women voters in 2014: 480507

Number of polling booths in 2014: 1,836