Karnataka bypolls 2018 : 4 out of 5 for Cong-JD(S) including BJP bastion Bellary
High stakes involved.
The big takeaway from Karnataka bypolls is that JD(S)-Congress alliance is working well on ground despite initial resentment among the workers post their tir-up. The alliance has ensured that BJP has lost its bastion of Bellary to Congress, which has won a prestige battle from there.
In total, BJP has lost 2 out of 3 Lok Sabha bypolls and both the assembly bypolls in Karnataka. The only consolation for BJP is in Shimoga where state party chief B S Yeddyurappa's son B Y Raghavendra defeated former chief minister S Bangarappa's son Madhu Bangarappa of JD(S) by over 52 thousand votes.
Congress' V S Ugrappa has won in Bellary defeating Shantha of BJP by2.46 lakh votes. Shantha is the sister of B Sriramulu, who gave up the seat after being elected to the state assembly in the polls in May this year.
JD(S) candidate L Shivarame Gowda prevailed against the BJP's new face Dr Siddaramaiah in Mandya by 324943 votes. Of the three Lok Sabha seats that went to the by-polls, BJP had held Shivamogga and Ballari and JD(S) Mandya.
In the Ramanagara assembly seat, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's wife Anitha Kumaraswamy won by 109137 in a virtual walk-over after BJP party candidate Chandrashekhar went back to Congress.
In the Jamkhandi assembly segment in north Karnataka, Congress candidate Anand Nyamgouda defeated BJP's Srikant Kulkarni by a margin of 39,480 votes, riding on a sympathy wave following his father and sitting MLA Siddu Nyamagoudas death in a road accident.The Ramanagara assembly seat was held by the JD(S) and Jamkhandi by the Congress.
With agency inputs
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A massive jolt for BJP as JD(S)-Congress wrests Bellary with a resounding margin. Once Sonia Gandhi's constituency, Bellary fell out of Congress radar in the recent years because of the prominence of Reddy Brothers. But with JD(S) for company, Congress has again roared back to prominence in its old stronghold.
In the Vokkaliga heartland of Mandya, JD(S) has won by a massive margin.
Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy reacts to the victory. He feels vindicated after many believed JD(S)-Congress alliance will be a non-starter politically. That myth has been busted today.
The confirmation of results are coming. It has been largely one-sided affair in all the seats. Shimoga promised to be a thriller initially, but as the rounds went on, BJP candidate BY Raghavendra managed to break away from his nearest opponent. He has finally managed to win with a margin of over 50 thousand.
Ramanagaram was a virtual walkover for JD(S) after BJP candidate went back to Congress. There were some doubts about how well the JD(S)-Congress alliance will work in Jamkhandi. The final margin will definitely soothe nerves in both the camps.
Bellary result is yet to come but it is all but a foregone conclusion now with Congress candidate leading by over 2 lakh votes.
Pictures of celebration:
Congress-JD(S) workers in celebratory mood across Karnataka while Bellary will be a hard pill to swallow for BJP.
Here's the latest numbers:
A stunning defeat for BJP in Bellary, where the Reddy brothers have a pretty strong influence shows that the saffron party can't take JD(S)-Congress alliance lightly in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
As more rounds are counted , increasingly a 4-1 result looks to be the most plausible result. If the trends hold, it will indeed be a big boost for the Cong-JD(S) alliance.
BJP-JD(S) leading by over lakh votes in its two bastions whereas in Shimoga, Yeddyurappa's son ahead by just over 2,500 votes.
Complete domination by JD(S)-Cong in Mandya and Bellary:
In Bellary, senior BJP leader Sriramulu's sister Shantha's chances increasingly looking dim now.
Lot of eyes were on whether BJP would manage to make significant inroads in JD(S) bastion of Mandya and the Congress stronghold of Jamkhandi. So far, the trends indicate both the parties have managed to keep their strongholds intact.
Congress is currently leading in Jamkhandi and Bellary, JD(S) in Mandya and Ramanagara. The lone good news for BJP is coming from Shivamogga so far. Early trends suggest that the JD(S)-Cong alliance has worked in ground. The leads taken by the candidates particularly in seats like Bellary should be a cause of huge worry for BJP.
BJP currently leading in 1 Lok Sabha seat. Cong-JD(S) alliance ahead in 2 Lok Sabha and 2 Assembly seats. In Bellary, they have managed a huge lead after just two rounds of counting.
Massive lead for Congress already in Jamkhandi. It will be hard for the BJP candidate to wipe-off this deficit.
Congress has surged to a lead of 31,000 in old-bastion of Bellary after second round of polling.
BJP is currently ahead in Shimoga where Yeddyurappa's son is contesting from. Kumaraswamy's wife Anitha JD(S) is ahead in Ramanagara.
Counting has begun under very tight security. The first trends will be known soon.