There is a longstanding belief that the party which wins Shirahatti wins Karnataka. The BJP's Ramappa Sobeppa Lamani won in Shirahatti by a margin of over 29,000 votes.
With BS Yeddyurappa officially taking oath as the new Chief Minister, it looks like the Shirahatti legacy will continue at least for now.
In 2013, during the Congress’ victory in Karnataka, Doddamani won the seat over Ramappa by a margin of 315 votes. In 2008, Ramanna S Lamani of BJP had defeated Congress' H R Nayak by a margin of 10501 votes. Since 1972 election, Shirahatti MLAs have been a part of the ruling party.
W V Vadirajcharya of Congress was elected that year from this constituency. Shirahatti has managed to vote for the winning party in seven Assembly elections