Recounting of votes of the Bellary Lok Sabha seat which was taken up here on Saturday did not produce any surprise, with J. Shantha of the BJP emerging victorious. The recounting was taken up following a Supreme Court order.
However, a formal announcement of the results is yet to be made.
Ms. Shantha polled 4,02,213 votes, 2,243 more than N.Y. Hanumanthappa of the Congress, who secured 3,99,970 votes.
Right from the first round to 16th, it was Mr. Hanumanthappa who was in the lead, and the trend got reversed in the 17th round when Ms. Shantha took a march over her rival by 1,051 votes and went on to establish a total lead of 2,243 votes after the 18th round.
Chandre Gowda, election agent of the Congress candidate, had challenged Ms. Shantha’s election in the Karnataka High Court. After the court set aside her election, Ms. Shantha appealed to the Supreme Court, which upheld the High Court order and ordered recounting.
Deputy Commissioner and Returning Officer Amlan Aditya Biswas said the results of the recounting would be forwarded to the Election Commission and also to the High Court to seek their nod before formally declaring the results.
“I was confident of emerging victorious,” said Ms. Shantha, reacting to the results.
Mr. Chandre Gowda said he was not satisfied with the outcome and a complaint had been lodged with the Election Commission. Mr. Hanumanthappa was also present at the hall where the votes were recounted.
Keywords: BJP Shantha, Bellary Lok Sabha seats, vote recounting
