Ravi belongs to the Vokkaliga community and is currently the National Secretary of the BJP.
(Photo: Altered by The Quint)
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National General Secretary and four-time-MLA CT Ravi lost to Congress' HD Thammaiah by a margin of 5,926 votes in Chikmagalur constituency during the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections.
The loss is a huge setback for the BJP leader from the Vokkaliga community. Accepting defeat, he said, "I accept my loss in the assembly elections... I congratulate all the winning candidates and wish them the very best in the coming days."
He further tweeted on Saturday afternoon and said:
In the 2004, Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections, CT Ravi won by a margin of more than 25,000 votes in the constituency. This marked his entry into the Karnataka Legislature.
Leading Congress candidate HD Thammaiah was previously associated with the BJP and was an aide of CT Ravi, before he left the party and switched to the Congress.
Ravi's statements have come under the scanner at a number of instances. In 2009, he had received a notice from the Election Commission for his 'inflammatory' speech at an election rally. During a controversy over the sale of halal food, he had referred to it as 'economic jihad'.
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