Gulbarga, Apr 6: The delimitation process had eliminated two Assembly constituencies in Gulbarga district of Karnataka, while two new constituencies were created in the district. According to official sources, Kamalapur and Shahabad constituencies, which were earlier reserved for Scheduled Castes(SC) in the district were eliminated. The areas under the constituencies would be included in reserved constituencies of Gulbarga Rural and Chitapur and Gulbarga South. The Gulbarga City Constituency was divided into Gulbarga North and Gulbarga South.

The party sources said the delimitation process would affect Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee(KPCC) President Mallikharjun Kharge, as the Gurmitkal constituency from which he was elected for eight times in a row, had ceased to be a reserved constituency.

Mr Kharge would contest either from Chitapur or Chincholoi Constituency in the ensuing elections.

There was, however, no major changes in Jawargi Constituency, the stronghold of former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader N Dharam Singh.

The Chitapur Constituency had witnessed major changes with the exclusion of Kaligi Circle, which now comes under Chincholi constituency, and inclusion of Wadi, Nalwar Circle and Shahabad Circle.

The newly-created Gulbarga Rural Constituency comprised Mahagoan, Kamalapur, Auradab Circles, and some areas of Shahabad.

The elimination of Kamalapur Constituency, a BJP stronghold, had prompted senior BJP leader Revu Nayak Belamgi to search for a new constituency to contest from, the sources added.

UNI