G Kumar Naik, representing the Indian National Congress (INC), emerged victorious in the Raichur Lok Sabha constituency during the 2024 general elections, winning by a significant margin of 670,966 votes.
The voting took place on May 7, 2024, during the fourth phase of the elections, with a voter turnout of 64.66%. The main contenders in the election were G Kumar Naik from INC and Raja Amareshwara Naik from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
G Kumar Naik secured 670,966 votes, while his opponent, Raja Amareshwara Naik, garnered 591,185 votes. The electoral dynamics were influenced by the composition of the constituency, which includes eight assembly seats, some of which are reserved for Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes.
The Congress party strategically fielded G Kumar Naik, a retired bureaucrat, to reclaim the seat from the BJP. Despite being the incumbent, Raja Amareshwara Naik faced criticism for perceived inaccessibility and ineffectiveness in local development.
Internal discontent within both parties, coupled with the neutral stance of former MP BV Naik, added complexity to the electoral landscape. This victory marks a significant shift from the 2019 elections when Raja Amaresh Nayak of BJP secured the seat with 53.21% of the votes, continuing BJP’s influence in the region.
In the 2014 elections, INC’s BV Nayak narrowly defeated BJP’s K. Shivanagouda Naik by just 1,499 votes.