Senior most MLA Deshpande won 9 times from same constituency

Congress MLA from Haliyal RV Deshpande (76) has emerged as the senior-most member of Karnataka’s new assembly.

A law graduate, he has won from the same constituency in Uttara Kannada district for a record nine times.

He lost from the constituency just once, and has consistently scuppered the BJP's efforts to win the seat.


Deshpande, who entered the assembly in 1983 as a member of the Janata Party led by the then chief minister Ramakrishna Hegde, has handled various portfolios including industries, higher education, and revenue. He handled the industries portfolio for 13 years, and organised the first global investors meet (GIM) in Bengaluru in the 1990s before the event acquired the name GIM.

Deshpande, who belongs to the Gowda Saraswat Brahim community, has been winning from the constituency where his own community population is very small. He told ET: “One’s caste does not matter to voters as long as they find their candidate credible, hard-working, responsive to people’s problems and is focussed on development.”

The legislative assembly honoured him, last year, with the “best legislator award’. He served as Industries minister for 13 years.