Dakshina Kannada

Dakshina Kannada is a coastal district in the state of Karnataka in India. Sheltered by the Western Ghats on the east and surrounded by the Arabian Sea on the west, Dakshina Kannada receives abundant rainfall during the monsoon. It is bordered by Udupi District to the north, Chikkamagaluru district to the northeast, Hassan District to the east, Kodagu to the southeast, and Kasaragod District in Kerala to the south.Mangalore city is the district headquarters of Dakshina Kannada.

The district is divided into five talukas namely Mangalore, Bantwal, Puttur, Sullia, and Belthangady. It used to include 4 northern talukas, Udupi, Kundapur, Karkala and Byndoor, but these were separated in August 1997 to form Udupi district. Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kasaragod are often called Tulu Nadu, as Tulu is the majority language in the region. The Alupas ruled this region between the 8th and 14th century CE as a feudatory of all the major Kannada empires of those times and it is for this reason that the Tulu speaking districts are a part of Karnataka.

Dakshina Kannada (Lok Sabha constituency)

Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 28 Lok Sabha (lower house of the Indian parliament) constituencies in Karnataka, a state in southern India. This constituency was created as a part of the delimitation of the parliamentary constituencies in 2008. It first held elections in 2009 and its first member of parliament (MP) was Nalin Kumar Kateel of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). As of the latest elections in 2014, Kateel represents this constituency.

Assembly segments

As of 2014, Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency comprises the following Vidhan Sabha (legislative assembly) segments:

Before delimitation in 2008, Belthangady Assembly segment was under Chikmagalur constituency and the Bantwal and Moodabidri Assembly segments, and the former Surathkal Assembly segment (now renamed as Mangalore City North) were under the Udupi constituency. In addition, the entire Kodagu district, comprising Madikeri, Virajpet and Somwarpet Assembly segments, was under the former Mangalore Lok Sabha constituency. After delimitation, Ullal and Mangalore Assembly segments were also renamed as Mangalore and Mangalore City South.