Karnataka by-poll result LIVE Updates: The ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition in Karnataka today won 4 out of 5 seats where by-elections were held on Saturday. The three Lok Sabha seats where elections were held are Bellari, Shimoga and Mandya. The two assembly seats are Jamkhandi and Ramanagara. Barring the Shimoga seat, the Congress-JD(S) won all the four seats.
The main contest was mainly between the ruling coalition of Congress-JD(S) and opposition BJP. According to poll officials, a total of 31 candidates were in the fray from all the five constituencies. The by-elections were seen as a prestigious popularity test for the ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition that had forged a post-poll alliance in May after the Assembly was delivered with a hung verdict. The BJP is currently the single largest party in the Karnataka Vidhana Soudha with 104 seats.
READ | Congress-JD(S) coalition in Karnataka faces acid test in by-polls
Former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa's son B Y Raghavendra wins Shivamogga Lok Sabha by-poll by 52,148 votes.
State NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik attributed the Karnataka win to the "oppisition unity". "The BJP wins whenever there is a division of votes, which did not happen in Karnataka by-polls," he said.
Congress-JD(S) combine victory in Karnataka bypolls indicates that the alliance with secular parties can defeat the BJP, senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan said Tuesday in remarks that are viewed as endorsement of his party's bid to lead a front of such parties. 'The situation was good. The Congress victory in the BJP stronghold of North Karnataka belt is very significant. Similarly, the money power of Reddy brothers in Ballari Lok Sabha seat did not work and the Congress won with a huge margin,' said the former Union minister.
BJP state unit president B S Yeddyurappa claimed that the by-election results once again proved that the Congress and the JD(S) were experts in hatching conspiracies. "We are not keeping quiet after the defeat. We have lost only the Ballari Lok Sabha seat. We will introspect our performance so that we win the 2019 elections. There is no doubt that we will win 22 to 23 Lok Sabha seats. I will soon tour Karnataka," he said.
Karnataka Congress president Dinesh Gundu Rao claimed that the results reflected the disenchantment of people with the BJP. "Look at the margins... It's clear that people are fed up with the BJP. This anti-people, anti-farmer, anti-women government at the Centre must go. All forces need to come together to take on the BJP. The BJP will be wiped out of Karnataka in 2019 (Lok Sabha polls). If it is wiped out in Karnataka, it will be wiped out in the entire south India," he said.
Hours after thumping victory in by-elections, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and Congress state president Dinesh Gundu Rao on Tuesday said that they will contest the next Lok Sabha elections together against the BJP. "We will contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections together. As we did this time, we will sit together to chalk out strategies to fight the Lok Sabha election in a coordinated manner," HD Kumaraswamy said.
Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Tuesday said that the BJP is offering around Rs 25-30 crore to some Congress and JD(S) MLAs but they will never be able to poach their legislators, ANI reported.
The by-elections were necessitated after Yeddyurappa and Sriramulu of the BJP and C S Puttaraju of the JD(S) vacated Shivamogga, Ballari and Mandya following their election to the assembly in May. Bypolls to Jamkhandi seat was necessitated after the death of sitting Congress MLA Siddu Nyamagouda, while Ramanagara ffell vacantafter Kumaraswamy gave it up.
The loss in the byelections comes as a major setback for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as it even lost the Ballari Lok Sabha seat, considered a stronghold of the controversial mining barons--the Reddy brothers. The results are an emphatic endorsement of Karnataka's ruling JD(S)-Congress coalition by the voters.
Karnataka Congress president Dinesh Gundu Rao said that the results reflected the disenchantment of people with the BJP. "Look at the margins...it's clear that people are fed up with the BJP. This anti-people, anti-farmer, anti-women government at the Centre must go. All forces need to come together to take on the BJP. BJP will be wiped out of Karnataka in 2019 (Lok Sabha polls). If it is wiped out in Karnataka, it will be wiped out in the entire south India," he said.
Congress leader VS Ugrappa has won the Bellary seat with a margin of 243161 votes. Bellary was considered to be a stronghold of the BJP which had held this seat since 2004.
Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy on Tuesday said that the alliance will win all 28 seats in the next Lok Sabha elections. "This is not an empty boast just because we have won today. This is the confidence of people in the alliance. This win is not making us arrogant," the JD(S) leader said.
Congress leader and former Union minister P Chidambaram said the lesson of the 4-1 victory in the Karnataka by polls is that the alliance has turned out beneficial. "The 4-1 win in the Karnataka bye-elections is similar to the Test series of Indian cricket team led by Virat Kohli. Lesson to be learnt: Alliance has turned out to be beneficial," he tweeted.
Karnataka Congress chief said that people have rejected BJP. "It is also a rejection of Modi government. Bypoll results will send a message to the entire country that the time for change has come."
Senior Congress leader and Minister in HD Kumaraswamy's government DK Shivakumar said that people want change and thanked the people of five constituencies for showing faith in Congress-JD(S). He said that the BJP can't make Ram Mandir and all those issues a political plank in south India because people want a government that can deliver.
“In any democratic result, election process...people's mandate is very important. It's the direction to the people of this country,” he said.
Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy's wife Anitha Kumaraswamy wins Ramanagaram assembly seat by a margin of 1,09,137 votes.
Congress candidate AS Nyamagouda defeats BJP's Kulkarni in Jamkhandi assembly seat by a margin of 39,480 votes. Nyamagouda is son of Congress' Siddu Nyamagouda, who died in a road accident in May. His death necessitated the bypolls in this constituency.
The ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition is leading in 4 out of 5 seats where by polls were held on Saturday. The BJP is only leading in Shimoga. Meanwhile, Congress workers have gathered outside the party office in Bengaluru to celebrating the win.
In Jamkhandi Assembly seat, Congress candidate Anand Nyamagouda leads over BJP's Srikanth Kulkarni by 32,933 votes.
In Ramanagaram, Chief Minister's wife Anitha Kumaraswamy is leads by 65,990 votes.
In Shimoga, BJP's BY Raghavendra has widened the gap from Congress' nominee by 32,563 votes. However, the BJP is trailing in its traditional stronghold of Bellary where Congress' VS Ugrappa is leading by 1,51,060 votes.
In Mandya, JD(S) candidate LR Shivaramegowda leads by 76,952 votes.
The Congress is heading towards a comfortable victory in BJP stronghold of Bellary. According to news agency ANI, party 's candidate VS Ugrappa is leading over BJP's J Shantha by over 1.20 lakh votes. As a ruling coalition, the JD(S) and Congress have fielded joint candidates in all the by-polls to consolidate their votes. While the JD(S) is contesting from Mandya, Shimoga and Ramanagara and the Congress from Bellary and Jamkhandi.
The Indian National Congress is leading in Jamkhandi and Bellary while the JD(S) leads in Ramnagara and Mandya. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), meanwhile, has taken a lead in Shimoga.
Congress' VS Ugrappa is leading over Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) J Shantha by 128815 votes in Bellary parliamentary seat after counting of votes for Round 8. Ugrappa is believed to be a loyalist of former state chief minister M Siddaramaiah and was selected as the candidate after the party leadership failed to zero in on a suitable local candidate.
There is a close contest going on between BY Raghavendra and Madhubangarappa from JD(S) in Shimoga. The early trends suggested that Raghavendra had taken the lead before Madhubangarappa turned the tables. As of now, Y Raghavendra leads over Madhubangarappa by 9665 votes in the 4th round of counting in Shimoga parliamentary seat.
After round 4, BJP candidate BY Raghavendra has taken lead over JD(S) nominee Madhubangarappa by 9,665 votes. Over 61% polling was recorded here on Saturday. Raghavendra had in 2009 Lok Sabha polls won from here. Bangarappa is the son of former chief minister S Bangarappa. The third candidate who is trying his luck from this seat is Mahima Patel, a JD(U) nominee. Mahima's father JH Patel had served as the Chief Minister Karnataka between 1996-99.
After round 5, JD(S) nominee is leading by 1,09,066 votes over BJP. The seat was vacated by JD(S) nominee CS Puttaraju after he was elected to the Karnataka Assembly from the Melkote constituency. 53.93% turnout was recorded in Mandya on Saturday. The JD(S) has fielded LR Shivarame Gowda against BJP's Siddaramaiah.
Congress' Anand Siddu Nyamagouda is leading Jamkhandi Assembly seat by 9,555 votes. Anand is son of Congress' Siddu Nyamagouda, who died in a road accident in May. His death necessitated the bypolls in this constituency. The BJP hopes to win the seat in the absence of a rebel candidate.
After second round of counting, JD(S) candidate S Madhubangarappa has taken lead over BJP's BY Raghavendra by 1,414 votes. Shimoga Lok Sabha seat was held by Raghavendra's father BS Yeddyurappa before he quit in May following his election to the Karnataka Assembly.
In Shimoga Lok Sabha seat, BJP's BY Raghavendra leading over JD(S) candidate S Madhubangarappa by 3,906 votes. Raghavendra is the son of former BJP Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa. The seat was held by BSY before he quit after being elected to the Legislative Assembly in May this year. First round counting is over here.
The Congress party has taken a massive lead in Bellary Lok Sabha seat where elections were held on Saturday. According to news agency ANI, after counting of votes for 3 rounds, Congress' VS Ugrappa is leading over BJP's J Shantha by 45,808 votes. The seat is considered a stronghold for the BJP. If the BJP fails to retain the seat, it will a big setback for the saffron party that won the seat three times in row since 2004 general elections.
After counting of votes for Round 1, Congress' VS Ugrappa is leading over BJP's J Shantha by 17,480 votes in Bellary parliamentary seat. The seat is considered a tronghold for the BJP. The party has won the seat thrice since 2004. In 2004, the seat was won by BJP's G Karunakara Reddy. In 2009 and 2014, J Shanthaa and B Sriramulu had won from here, respectively, But the seat fell vacant after Sriramulu resigned from here following his election to the Legislative Assembly in May.
After three rounds in Jamkhandi assembly seat, Congress' Anand Siddu Nyamagouda has taken lead over BJP's Kulkarni Shrikant Subrao by 55,433 votes. In Ramanagar assembly seat, after two rounds of counting, JD(S) candidate Anitha who is wife of CM HD Kumaraswamy has taken a comfortable lead.
Counting of votes in underway in a peaceful manner at all the five centres in five constituencies. Initial trends show that Congress candidate and Kumaraswamy's wife is leading in Ramanagara Assembly constituency. Also in Jhamkhandi assembly seat, Congress' Anand Nyamagouda has taken early lead.
In the Bellary Lok Sabha seat, the early trends show that Congress' VS Ugrappa is leading against BJP's Shantha by. In Shimoga parliamentary constituency, the BJP is leading by 800 votes. The BJP has fielded BY Raghvendra, son of BJP's former CM BS Yeddyurappa, from here.
Counting is underway in Bellary Lok Sabha seat amid tight security. The elections were held on Saturday. Nearly 63% voting was recorded in this constituency. The Congress fielded its MLC VS Ugrappa against BJP's Shantha. Both belong to the dominant Valmiki tribal community. The seat is reserved for STs.
Karnataka Assembly has 224 chairs, but polling in May were held in 222 constituencies. Bypolls to Jamkhandi assembly seat was necessitated due to the demise of Congress MLA Siddu Nyamagouda. The Ramanagara was won by Kumaraswamy but it fell vacant after Kumaraswamy resigned from the seat as he preferred to retain Chennapatna seat.
As per initial reports, JD(S) nominee Anitha Kumaraswamy, wife of CM HD Kumaraswamy , is leading in Ramanagara. She is set to win from here because she is not facing fight from strong candidates. It is in this seat the BJP faced its biggest embarrassment. The party had fielded L Chandrashekar against the CM's wife but the nominee quit the party at last moment and re-joined the Congress.
Counting of votes for 3 lok Sabha and 2 Assembly seats began amid tight security. According to Election Commission officials, counting is being done at five centres, one each in five constituencies. The poll boduy has deployed 1,248 staff for the smooth conduct of counting.
The by-elections for three Lok Sabha seats were held to fill vacancies caused by the resignation of its three sitting MPs. They were BJP's state unit president BS Yeddyurappa (Shimoga) and Sriramaulu (Bellary) and C Puttaraju of JD(S) from Mandya. They had resigned after being elected to the assembly in May.
Sons of three former Chief Ministers were locked in a triangular contest from Shimoga Lok Sabha seat. They are BY Raghavendra, son of BJP's Yeddyurappa (2008 to 2011); Madhu Bangarappa, son of late Congress CM S Bangarappa (1990-92) and Mahima Patel, son of late JD(U) CM JH Patel (1996-99). CLICK HERE TO READ MORE
Police said that elaborate security arrangements have been made to ensure to that no untoward incident takes place during the counting process. Police have been deployed around the counting centres and strongrooms where the EVMs are placed.