K’taka Bypolls: Cong-JD(S) Wins 4 Seats, Bags BJP Bastion Ballari

Counting for five constituencies going to bypolls took place in Karnataka on Tuesday, 6 November with the Congress-JD(S) winning the Jamkhandi and Ramanagaram Assembly seats and Ballari and Mandya Lok Sabha seats, while BJP won the Shimoga Lok Sabha seat.

While the Congress dubbed the win as a reflection of the mood of the nation, BJP called the party’s poor show a “warning”.

Ballari

• Congress+JD(S) won by a margin of 2,43,161 votes.
• VS Ugrappa (Congress+JDS): 628365
• J Shantha (BJP): 385204

Shivamoga

• BJP won by a margin of 52,148 votes.
• BY Raghavendara (BJP): 5,43,306
• Madhu Bangarappa (Congress+JDS): 4,91,158

Mandya

• Congress+JD(S) won by a margin of 3,24,943 votes.
• Shivarame Gowda (Congress-JDS): 5,69,347
• SG Siddaramaiah (BJP): 2,44,404

Jamkhandi

• Congress+JD(S) won by a margin of 39,480 votes.
• Ananth Nyamegowda (Congress-JDS): 97,017
• Srikanth Kulkarni (BJP): 57,537

• Ramanagara
• Congress+JD(S) won by a margin of 1,09,137 votes.
• Anitha Kumaraswamy (Congress+JDS): 1,25,043
• L Chandrashekar (BJP): 15,906

Veteran BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa said the results were a warning for the BJP partymen and work needs to be done right away in the respective constituencies.

“The painful fact is that we have had a setback in Ballari and Jamakhandi. I feel this is a warning to us and we need to begin work there right away,” he said, as quoted by Hindustan Times (HT).

Yeddyurappa’s son won from Shivamogga Lok Sabha seat.

He also accused the ruling Congress-JD(S) alliance of using money power. “ They had money, muscle and government power and they used this or else we could have got more votes. They won because they spent a lot of money and supplied a lot of liquor. But they could not do so in Shivamogga, but let us not get disheartened,” he said.

Congress national spokesperson Shaktisinh Gohil congratulated the people of Karnataka and thanked them for keeping BJP’s alleged divisive narrative out of the state.

Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge took to Twitter to congratulate Congress-JD(S) for its victory in the bypolls and called it a clear message for the BJP.

Congratulating the Congress and JD(S) for their performance in Karnataka, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said that the results are “indicative of the changed mood in the country.”

Speaking to ANI, Karnataka CM HD Kumamraswamy said that BJP is trying to buy Congress and JD(S) MLAs off.

Congress candidate VS Ugrappa wins Ballari by 2,43,161 votes.

Congratulating Congress and JD(S) for their win, Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy asserted that BJP’s unholy alliance contention has now been nullified.

Stating that the JD(S) will work with the Congress to win all 28 Lok Sabha seats, he also said that this will not make them arrogant.

CT Ravi, an MLA from BJP took to Twitter to say that they will not insult people by blaming EVMs or money power for their loss, and that they accept the verdict of the people.

Karataka Congress President Dinesh Gundu Rao has said that this is a rejection of the BJP.

JD(S) candidate LR Shivaramegowda emerges victorious in Mandya, with a margin of 3,24,943 votes.

JD(S)'s Anitha Kumaraswamy wins Ramanagaram Assembly seat with a margin of 1,09,137 votes. She is the wife of Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy, and also a first time MLA from the seat.

Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah took to Twitter to express his joy over the results.

Congress candidate Anand Siddu Nyamagouda has won the Jamkhandi seat by 39,480 votes.

Speaking to ANI, Congress leader DK Shivakumar said that the Ram Mandir issue should not be used as a “political plank.”

He also said that he has asked his party to replace him as the campaign committee chairman but he does not know when will they do it. Further, he said:

After 20 rounds of counting, BJP candidate BY Raghavendra was ahead with 52,148 votes more than S Madhubangarappa.

However, Raghavendra’s lead is paltry when compared to his father BS Yeddyurappa, who had won the same seat with a margin of 3.4 lakh in the previous election.

Congress workers celebrate outside the counting station in Ballari. Congress' candidate VS Ugrappa is leading by 184203 votes in the parliamentary seat.

Former CM Siddaramaiah also tweeted regarding the impending victory in Ballari. He thanked voters of Ballari and said that the people had cursed the inhuman ways of Janardhan Reddy.

Congress’ AS Nyamagouda leads by 32,933 votes in Jamkhandi.

JD(S)'s Anitha Kumaraswamy leads by 65,990 votes in Ramanagaram,

BJP's BY Raghavendra leads by 32,563 votes in Shimoga,

Congress’ VS Ugrappa leads by 1,51,060 votes in Ballari

JD(S) LR Shivaramegowda leads by 76,952 votes in Mandya

(ANI)

JD(S) candidate L R Shivaramegowda was leading by 99,198 votes after five rounds of voting. DR Siddaramaiah of the BJP amassed only 56,959 votes.

(Source: Karntaka Election Commission)

BJP MLA S Suresh Kumar of Bengaluru’s Rajajinagar constituency tweeted about the need for genuine introspection, without providing any context.

The tweet came at a time when Congress had secured a stupendous margin in BJP stronghold Ballari, and the JD(S)-Congress coalition was leading in every other constituency, except Shimoga.

He also said that it was time for his party-members to get ready for the “major exam”.

Congress' VS Ugrappa leading over BJP's J Shantha by 1,28,815 votes in Bellary parliamentary seat after counting of votes for Round 8.

(ANI)

After nearly two hours of counting of votes being underway, here is how things stand:

After 6 rounds, Congress in a comfortable lead in Ballari with Ugrappa leading by 1,00,723 votes to J Shantha from BJP, sister of strongman B Sriramalu

JD(S) leading by 1,09,066 votes over BJP in Mandya parliamentary seat after counting of votes in round 5.

After 7 rounds of counting, Congress’ Anand Nyamagouda, who stood for elections after the death of his father, is leading with 16,516 votes over BJP’s Subrao in Jamkhandi

Karnataka CM’s wife Anitha Kumaraswamy is cruising in Ramanagara after securing 41,650 votes to BJP Chandrashekar’s 6655 votes after 7 rounds.

Meanwhile in Shimoga, the race between Madhubangarappa of JD(S) and BJP’s Raghavendra is tight with Raghavendra leading by less than 10k votes.

Congress' VS Ugrappa leading over BJP's J Shantha by 1 lakh votes in Ballari parliamentary seat after counting of votes for Round 5.

In Mandya. the JD(S) candidate is ahead by 74,003 votes

Madhubangarappa edged ahead of By Raghavendra with 61,156 votes to the latter’s 59,742 votes in Shimoga

(Source: Karnataka Election Commission)

Congress' VS Ugrappa leading over BJP's J Shantha by 64,000 votes in Ballari parliamentary seat after counting of votes for Round 4

(ANI)

The battle between the sons of former chief ministers got tighter as BSY’s son BY Raghavendra secured 29,754 votes to Madhubangarappa’s 25,848 in Shimoga.

(Source: Karnataka Election Commission)

INC's Anand Siddu Nyamagouda leads over BJP's Kulkarni Shrikant Subrao by 55433 votes in 3 rounds in Jamkhandi assembly seat.

(ANI)

After the first round of counting in the Karntaka bypolls, here is how things stand:

• In Ballari, Congress’ Ugrappa leads with 39,254 votes to BJP’s J Shantha, sister of strongman B Sriramalu, who trails with 21,774 votes.
• In Ramanagara, CM’s wife Anitha Kumaraswamy secured an early lead with 10,241 votes to BJP’s L Chandrashekar’s 1,811 votes.

(Source: Karnataka Election Commission)

The counting of the by-elections to three parliamentary constituencies and two Assembly constituencies in Karnataka began at 8 am on Tuesday, 6 November.

Counting of votes will take place in Mandya, Ramanagara, Shivamoga, Ballari and Jamkhandi.

With no Congress leader showing interest to contest the Shivamogga seat, the BJP was doubly sure of a win and was mulling about fielding BY Raghavendra for the 2019 General elections as well.

When Bangarappa was nominated as the JD(S) candidate to contest the Shivamogga seat, local BJP leaders began doubting the possibility of a win. The reason? Caste calculations.

Read the full story here.

The Lok Sabha by-elections were held to fill vacancies caused by the resignation of its three sitting members – BJP's Yeddyurappa from Shimoga and Sriramaulu from Ballari, and C Puttaraju of the JD(S) from Mandya on being elected to the Assembly in the 12 May elections.

The Ramanagara by-poll was held to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Kumaraswamy, who retained the adjacent Channapatna Assembly seat after contesting and winning from both the seats.

(IANS)

In 1999, Ballari – a mine-rich district in north Karnataka – was the arena for a political showdown between Sonia Gandhi and Sushma Swaraj. Gandhi won the elections that year, but over the next decade the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed to wrest power in the region.

Almost two decades later, in November 2018, Ballari will once again be closely watched in Karnataka and outside as a precursor of the crucial 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Read the complete story here.

The ruling Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) and Congress alliance is upbeat on retaining their hold in the Saturday's five by-elections ahead of the vote count on Tuesday, 6 November, an official said.

"Higher voter turnout in the two Assembly segments of Jamkhandi and Ramangara and moderate in the three parliamentary seats of Ballari (ST), Mandya and Shimoga indicate that joint candidates of our parties have a clear edge," a JD-S official told IANS.

Ballari constituency had recorded the highest voter turnout after voting concluded on 3 November, with 63.85 percent.

Shimoga and Mandya constituencies recorded 61.05 percent and 53.93 percent voter turnout respectively. The Legislative Assembly constituencies of Ramanagaram and Jamkhandi recorded 73.71 percent and 81.58 percent turnout respectively.