Bellary is considered a safe seat for the Congress the party has never lost an election here since 1952. It was represented by Basvarajeshwary for three terms and she recently retired.

Bellary is located in the Congress heartland, flanked by Raichur and Koppal, which have also been traditional Congress strongholds. The constituency has a sizable number of OBCs, minorities, SCs and labourers working in the manganese mines in the area. It has a large number of Naiks, who were categorised as scheduled tribes by the Havanur Commission in 1974, and the STs have been inclined to support the Congress.

In fact, Sonia kicked off her election campaign from Bellary on July 14 and addressed a well-attended meeting there. Before that, she flew to neighbouring Chitradurga to call on veteran Congress leader S Nijalingappa.