K. C. Veerendra Puppy

Last updated

K. C. Veerendra Puppy
Indian electoral constituency
Constituency details
Country India
District Chitradurga
Member of Legislative Assembly
Incumbent
Party Indian National Congress
Elected year 2023
Preceded by G. H. Thippareddy

K. C. Veerendra Puppy (born 1975) is an Indian politician from Karnataka. He is a member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly from Chitradurga Assembly constituency in Chitradurga district. He won the 2023 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election representing Indian National Congress. [1] [2] In August 2025, he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate for his alleged role in online money betting and for money laundering. [3]

Contents

Early life and education

Puppy is from Challakere, Chitradurga district. His late father Kondlahalli was a farmer. He completed B.Com. in 1999 at HPPC Government First Grade College, which is affiliated with Kuvempu University. [4]

Career

Puppy won from Chitradurga Assembly constituency representing Indian National Congress in the 2023 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election. He polled 122,021 votes and defeated his nearest rival, G. H. Thippareddy of Bharatiya Janata Party, by a huge margin of 53,300 votes. [5] [6] [7]

On 23 August 2025, the Directorate of Enforcement arrested him from Gangtok, Sikkim, in connection with his alleged role in a case involving, now illegal, offline and online betting. [8] On 22 August, ED launched a raid at 31 locations and reportedly Rs.12 crores were recovered in cash and foreign currency. [3] Raids were also held in Goa on some of the casino's including Puppy’s Casino Gold, Ocean Rivers Casino and Big Daddy Casino. [9] On August 2025, the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, was passed in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha cleared it the next day. The bill puts an end to online money gaming in India. [10]

References

  1. "K C Veerendra Puppy in Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023". News18. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  2. "Chitradurga Assembly Karnataka Election 2023 Results Live: Chitradurga constituency Results, Winner list and vote share | Hindustan Times". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 24 May 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
  3. 1 2 PTI (23 August 2025). "Enforcement Directorate arrests Karnataka Congress MLA K.C. Veerendra in 'illegal' betting case". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  4. "K.C.Veerendra Puppy(Indian National Congress(INC)):Constituency- CHITRADURGA(CHITRADURGA) - Affidavit Information of Candidate". www.myneta.info. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  5. "Chitradurga Assembly Election results LIVE: KC Veerendra Puppy emerges victorious - CNBC TV18". CNBCTV18. 12 May 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  6. "Karnataka Election Results 2023 Constituency Wise Winning Candidates List". India Today. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  7. "Chitradurga: In Battle Of Turncoats, BJP MLA GH Thippareddy Take On Veerendra Pappy and Raghu Achar | Karnataka Constituency Watch". Times Now. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  8. Kumari, Anushka (23 August 2025). "Rs 12 Crore Cash, Cars With Same VIP Numbers: Congress MLA Arrested In Betting Racket". NDTV. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  9. "Karnataka Crime: ED Arrests Congress MLA Veerendra 'Puppy' in Betting Case, Rs 12 Crore Seized". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  10. "Online Gaming Bill 2025 passed in Lok Sabha: Ban on real money gaming; boost for esports". The Times of India. 21 August 2025. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 23 August 2025.