In a setback to the ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition in Karnataka, the BJP swept 24 parliamentary constituencies out of a total of 28 and was leading in one constituency late on Thursday. The Congress and JD(S) managed to win just one seat each at the time.
Karnataka voted in two phases in the Lok Sabha Elections of 2019 — 14 constituencies in southern Karnataka voted on April 18, while the remaining 14 went to polls on April 23. This was the first time that traditional rivals, the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular), fought together in a general election.
In a face-off with the coalition partners, the BJP contested in 27 seats and backed an Independent candidate in Mandya, while the Congress and the JD(S), in a seat-sharing arrangement, contested 22 and six seats, respectively.
According to exit polls, the minimum number of seats that the BJP is expected to win is pegged at 18 — two more than the current tally, while the maximum it could end up winning is 25 seats.
The Lok Sabha election results are expected to impact power equations in the Karnataka Assembly owing to differences within the ruling coalition partners and efforts by the BJP to capitalise on such differences.
Here are the updates:
Deve Gowda defeated in Tumakuru
Former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) Supremo H.D. Deve Gowda has been defeated by a margin of 14,493 votes by BJP's G.S. Basavaraj in Tumakuru Lok Sabha constituency. After giving up the Hassan parliamentary constituency to his grandson Prajwal Revanna, Mr. Deve Gowda chose Tumakuru to contest, as JD(S) has a strong hold in Tumakuru district and comes under Old Mysore region. Mr. Deve Gowda contested from Tumakuru Lok Sabha constituency for the first time in his political career of over four decades.
By winning Tumakuru, Mr. Basavaraj registered his fifth victory. He had won three times from a Congress ticket and once from a BJP ticket. While Mr. Basavaraj polled 5,96,127 votes, Mr. Deve Gowda polled 5,82,788 votes.
In a tweet, Mr. Deve Gowda said: "I thank the voters, leaders, party workers of both Janata Dal (S) and INC and everyone who supported me. Our work towards betterment of the society will never stop. Congratulations to all the elected MPs. Congratulations to Narendra Modi on the big victory."
B.Y. Raghavendra wins
B.Y. Raghavendra, BJP candidate and son of former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, has registered victory in Shivamogga parliamentary constituency by a huge margin of 2,23,360 votes against Madhu Bangarappa, Janata Dal(Secular) candidate and son of former Chief Minister S. Bangarappa.
While 7,29,872 votes were polled in favour of Mr. Raghavendra, Mr. Bangarappa managed to get 5,06,512 votes. This is the second face off between both the candidates in the parliamentary election. In the byelection for Shivamogga seat held recently, Mr. Raghavendra had won by a margin of more than 52,000 votes.
Mr. Raghavendra attributed his victory to the hard work put in by BJP cadres, the strong wave that prevailed in the constituency in favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the development works initiated in Shivamogga district during the tenure of Mr. Yeddyurappa as Chief Minister.
"Though the top leaders of Janata Dal(Secular)-Congress coalition, including former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, and Minister for Water Resources D.K. Shivakumar, had camped in Shivamogga to wrest the seat from BJP, the voters supported me to re-elect Narendra Modi as Prime Minister.” Accusing the coalition leaders of trying to woo voters with cash, he said: "The negative tactics employed by the coalition leaders failed as the voters in Shivamogga^, known for their political maturity, stood by the BJP.”
Weak Cong-JD(S) chemistry paves the way for BJP in old Mysore region
The saffron surge in Karnataka did not spare even the traditional strongholds of coalition partners Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) in Old Mysore region, leaving the alliance virtually in tatters.
The triumph of BJP in many parts of Old Mysore region has served to expose the chinks in the electoral partnership between Congress and JD(S). The inability of the coalition partners to make any discernible electoral gains despite forging a seat sharing arrangement has raised questions over the chemistry between the two parties.
After fighting each other in elections bitterly for decades, the Congress and JD(S) joined hands after last year’s Assembly polls to not only form a coalition government, but also resolved to fight the Lok Sabha polls jointly against the “communal” BJP.
EVM tampering suspected: Congress
Dakshina Kannada Pradesh Congress Committee president Harish Kumar has suspected that tampering of EVMs has resulted in more votes for BJP candidate Nalin Kumar Kateel.
He claimed there was no other reason but that for Mr. Kateel getting a lead of nearly 3 lakh votes over young Congress candidate Mithun Rai in the Dakshina Kannada constituency.
"It's difficult to believe that people have voted for the party that has supported Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse," Mr. Kumar said and added that the Congress will review the result and consider taking legal action.
Haveri first in country to declare result
The 2019 Parliamentary elections is a record of sorts for the Haveri district administration as it was the first to announce the results ahead of all other constituencies in the entire country.
Deputy Commissioner of Haveri and District Election Officer Krishna Bajpai said that they announced the result for Haveri Parliamentary Constituency around 3 p.m. and they received an official communication from the Election Commission to the office of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Zilla Panchayat about being the first to announce the results.
BJP’s Shivakumar Udasi won the Haveri Lok Sabha constituency for the third time in a row by securing 6,83,660 votes against D.R. Patil who secured 5,42,778 votes.
BJP continues its hold over three coastal constituencies
Nalin Kumar Katil at counting center at NITK in Mangaluru on Thursday.
Nalin Kumar Katil at counting center at NITK in Mangaluru on Thursday.
Riding on the “Modi wave”, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continues to have its hold over the three coastal districts in the State with the incumbent Members of Parliament maintaining high lead.
The Congress replacing its long standing candidate B. Janardhana Poojary with a Youth Congress leader in Dakshina Kannada appears to be not helping the party to wrest the seat it lost to the saffron party about three decades ago. The united fight with the Janata Dal (Secular) in Udupi-Chikkamagaluru and Uttara Kannada constituencies also appears not helping the party to trounce the BJP in those two constituencies.
Anantkumar Hegde, the Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and the party candidate from Uttara Kannada constituency is all set to enter the Parliament for the sixth time, consecutively for the fourth time since 2004 elections. Earlier he had won from the same constituency first by opening the party’s account in 1996 and later in 1998 polls. He had got defeated by Margaret Alva of the Congress in 1999.
Nalin Kumar Kateel is on the verge of making hatrick in Dakshina Kannada. With this the BJP is heading towards winning the Dakshina Kannada seat for the eighth consecutive term since 1991.
Shobha Karandlaje is also on the verge of making it to the Parliament from Udupi-Chikkamagaluru constituency for the second consecutive term.
- Special Correspondent
Setback to Siddaramaiah
The loss of Congress candidate C.H. Vijayshankar from Mysuru Lok Sabha constituency has come as a major setback to former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
It was not only common knowledge that Mr. Vijayshankar was Mr. Siddaramaiah’s choice of candidate, but the JD(S) leader and Minister for Higher Education G.T. Deve Gowda had publicly revealed that the former Chief Minister had bargained hard for Mysuru Lok Sabha seat to field Mr. Vijayshankar.
Mr. Vijayshankar, a former BJP MP, had joined the Congress ahead of the Assembly polls last year.
Mr. Siddaramaiah is believed to have played a key role in the Congress refusing to cede the Mysuru seat, a Vokkaliga dominated constituency, to the JD(S) to facilitate the fielding of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda.
Though the former Chief Minister managed to keep his word to Mr. Vijayshankar and fielded him as the coalition candidate from Mysuru, BJP’s Pratap Simha was re-elected from the constituency.
However, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson Venkatesh H.A. said it was unfair to blame Mr. Siddaramaiah for Mr. Vijayshankar’s loss. “Such a mandate is not restricted to Mysuru region. It is prevailing in the rest of the state and the country”, he said.
He also ruled out any threat to the coalition government in the State. “Mr. Deve Gowda is committed to secularism, and so is Congress. There is no threat to the stability of the coalition government”, he added.
Congress set to lose in Chikkodi
The Congress is set to lose Chikkodi, the only seat it held in Mumbai Karnataka region in the 2014 elections.
Anna Saheb Jolle, BJP candidate from Chikkodi, is leading by 67,000 votes over his nearest rival Prakash Hukkeri of the Congress. Officers have counted 10 rounds and around six rounds are left.
Mr. Jolle, who built a career in public life through a string of cooperative societies, is all set to win from Chikkodi held by Mr. Hukkeri, veteran Congressman, for two terms now. His wife Shashikala, who runs a school for challenged children and women's self help groups, is a two term MLA from Nippani. She is an active member of the Sahakara Bharati, an all India federation of cooperatives, affiliated to the RSS.
This election is a revenge of sorts for Mr. Jolle, who earlier was defected by Mr. Hukkeri and his son Ganesh Hukkeri in two elections. The BJP chose Mr. Jolle over Ramesh Katti, who had lost by a small margin of 3,003 to Prakash Hukkeri in the previous election. That Mr. Jolle had lost the 2018 Assembly elections did not matter to BJP's leadership.
While RSS leaders like Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat campaigned for Mr. Jolle, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had addressed a rally in Chikkodi.
Madhwaraj accepts defeat
The Janata Dal (Secular) candidate Pramod Madhwaraj has accepted his defeat in the Udupi-Chikkamagaluru parliamentary constituency. He attributed his defeat to the BJP wave.
In a tweet, Mr. Madhwaraj said: "When there is a wave in favour of BJP, all of us become helpless. Nevertheless voters are our bosses and they have given the verdict which I humbly accept without any bitterness."
Sadananda Gowda set for victory
BJP's candidate from Bangalore North D.V. Sadananda Gowda is all set to win from the constituency again.
D.V. Sadananada Gowda says his margin of victory may touch 2 lakh. He thanked the BJP party workers for taking up his re-election from Bengaluru North as a challenge. "Seven MLAs belonged to the Congress and Janata Dal (S). My workers fought like warriors in the battlefield. Apart from this, Narendra Modi's image and Amit Shah's organisational skills helped me win this election," he said.
KPCC president congratulates BJP
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president Dinesh Gundu Rao has congratulated the BJP for a "resounding victory" both in India and Karnataka. In a tweet, he said: "In a democracy, people's verdict is sacrosanct. I wish Mr. Modi the very best and hope in his second term as PM will build a stronger, more prosperous and inclusive India."
In Karnataka, of the 28 Lok Sabha constituencies, the BJP is leading in a record 24 seats. The BJP-backed independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh is leading in Mandya constituency. The Congress is leading in two constituencies - Bangalore Rural and Chamarajanagar, while JD(S) is leading in Hassan.
Meanwhile, the Congress's Bangalore South candidate B.K. Hariprasad conceded defeat, while admitting that it was unexpected. Stating that he would accept the people's mandate, he said: "Whoever voted for me, voted for the idea of India and we will struggle to keep it up".
Clean sweep for BJP in North Karnataka
Going by the trends, Congress is staring at a humiliating defeat in the North Karnataka region, with the party not registering lead even in a single constituency out of the total 12.
All theses constituencies had gone to polls in the third phase of parliamentary elections (second phase in Karnataka). Of the 12 seats in North Karnataka, the earlier tally for BJP and Congress stood at eight and four respectively.
This time, the BJP is poised towards a clean sweep and Congress is staring at a whitewash. Of the 14 constituencies that went to polls in the third phase, BJP has registered lead in all.
The only face saver for Congress in the region seems to be from Kundagol Assembly constituency, where bye-election was held. The Congress candidate Kusumavati Shivalli has registered a lead by wafer-thin margin.
JD(S) leaders go into a huddle
In the light of Janata Dal (Secular) performing poorly in its Vokkaliga bastion, especially in Mandya and Tumakuru where its nominees are trailing, top party leaders huddled at the party supremo H.D. Deve Gowda's residence in Padmanabhanagar.
Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy whose son Nikhil Kumaraswamy is trailing behind BJP backed independent Sumalatha Ambareesh, drove down to Mr. Gowda's residence about half an hour ago. Sources said that both leaders - dejected at the results - are confabulating on the results and strategies to be adopted by the party in the coming days.
Party's nominee in Hassan Lok Sabha constituency Prajwal Revanna, son of Public Works Minister H.D. Revanna, is the lone party candidate who is leading. Party's candidates in Shivamogga, Udupi-Chikamagalur, Uttara Kannada and Vijayapura Lok Sabha constituencies have fared poorly, losing to BJP candidates by a big margin.
Prakash Raj acknowledges defeat
Film actor and independent candidate from Bangalore Central Lok Sabha constituency Prakash Raj acknowledged defeat. Incumbent MP and BJP candidate P.C. Mohan is leading by 41,585 against his nearest rival Congress's candidate Rizwan Arshad. In a tweet, Mr. Raj said: "a SOLID SLAP on my face...as More ABUSE...TROLL...and HUMILIATION come my way..I WILL STAND MY GROUND..My RESOLVE to FIGHT for SECULAR INDIA will continue..A TOUGH JOURNEY AHEAD HAS JUST BEGUN..THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO WERE WITH ME IN THIS JOURNEY...JAI HIND".
He later told reporters that he was disappointed with the results, but would continue to work towards establishing alternative politics in the country. He maintained that he would not align with any political party and would continue to work in Karnataka. He also denied that his candidature had eaten into the Congress's vote share and said, "Look at the difference between the BJP and Congress's votes. Look at the Congress's performance elsewhere too."
People have rejected coalition government in Karnataka: Shobha Karandlaje
Shobha Karandlaje, BJP candidate who is on her way to winning the Udupi-Chikkamagaluru parliamentary seat, said results of the Lok Sabha parliamentary elections in Karnataka showed that the people had rejected the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition government.
She told reporters here that the fall of coalition government was imminent, as citizens had rejected the government's “anti-farmer and anti-people” policies.
Claiming that the BJP would not entice MLAs from either Congress or JD(S), she said: “But if the MLAs from these two parties resign on their own and join the BJP, we will welcome them."
Ms. Karandlaje said that the BJP would win over 22 seats in the State. “We are happy that Karnataka has given the best performance for the BJP in South India. This is way beyond the expectations of the party high command," she added.
P.C. Mohan gains lead
Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha constituency could be heading towards a close finish. After trailing behind Congress nominee Rizwan Arshad for whole of the morning, incumbent BJP MP P.C. Mohan has gained a lead of 8,448 votes.
Where are the coalition candidates trailing
Amidst a possible record number of BJP candidates winning from Karnataka this time, initial trends show that the ruling Janata Dal (Secular) - Congress combine is trailing behind BJP in 8 of the 12 constituencies that it represents currently. Congress has managed to gain initial votes against BJP only in Bengaluru Central, where its candidate Rizwan Arshad is leading against incumbent BJP MP P.C. Mohan.
In all, out of 28 constituencies, the coalition candidates are leading in just 4 constituencies - Chamarajanagar, Bengaluru Rural, Bengaluru Central, and Hassan. In all, BJP is leading in 23 Lok Sabha constituencies and in Mandya, BJP backed independent is leading.
They include Tumakuru - held by Congress but given to JD(S) - where former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda is trailing behind G.S. Basavraju, Raichur, Ballari, Chikkaballapur, Chitradurga, Kalaburagi, Kolar and Mandya Lok Sabha constituencies.
While incumbent MP B.V. Naik is trailing behind BJP's Raja Amareshwar Naik in Raichur, former Union Minister Veerappa M. Moily is trailing to former Minister and BJP leader B.N. Bache Gowda in Chikkaballapur. Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjuna M. Kharge is trailing behind Umesh G. Jadhav, who recently quit Congress to join BJP, and former Union Minister K.H. Muniyappa is trailing behind BJP's V. Muniswamy in Kolar.
Congress leader V.S. Ugrappa, who had won bye elections to Ballari Lok Sabha constituency, is trailing behind BJP's Y. Devendrappa. Congress's incumbent MP from Chitradurga B.N. Chandrappa is trailing behind BJP's A. Narayanswamy.
In Mandya Lok Sabha constituency, which is currently held by JD-S candidate L.R. Shivarame Gowda, BJP-backed Independent Sumalatha is leading JD-S candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy.
Battle between sons of two former CMs
The battle between B.Y. Raghavendra and Madhu Bangarappa - sons of two former Chief Ministers - for the Shivamogga Lok Sabha polls could be going in the way of the former. Mr. Raghavendra, son of former Chief Minister and BJP state President B.S. Yeddyurappa, is leading against Janata Dal (Secular) candidate Mr. Madhu, son of former Chief Minister S. Bangarappa, by over 1.58 lakh votes.
This is the second face off for the two, who were involved in a close fight during the bye polls to Shivamogga Lok Sabha constituency in October 2018 when Mr. Raghavendra defeated Mr. Madhu.
The low and the high
True to the pre poll predictions of a photo finish to the Mandya Lok Sabha constituency polls, the margin between the BJP-backed independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh and Janata Dal (Secular) candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy has remained very low.
Ms. Sumalatha is leading Mr. Nikhil by a thin margin of 5,215 votes. The leads between the two in the initial rounds of counting had remained a few hundred and leads rotating between the two nominees.
In contrast, Union Minister Ananth Kumar Hegde is leading 3,24,489 votes against JD(S) candidate Anand Asnotikar in Uttara Kannada - so far the biggest margin in 28 Lok Sabha constituencies in the State. Another Union Minister Ramesh Jigajinagi is leading his nearest rival Sunitha Devanand Chanvan of the JD(S) by a margin of 1,99,395 in Vijayapura. Incumbent MP from Dakshina Kannada (BJP) Naveen Kumar Kateel is leading by 1,92,948 votes against Congress candidate Mithun Rai.
Bye-elections to two Assembly constituencies
The bye-elections to two Assembly constituencies that holds the key to numbers in the State Assembly could end up with BJP and Congress getting one seat each. Both the constituencies were held by Congress.
According to current trends, Congress's nominee Kusumavati C. Shivalli is leading with a thin margin of 1716 votes against BJP's nominee Chikkanagoudra Siddanagouda Ishwaragoud in bye-polls to Kundgol assembly constituency.
Chincholi assembly seat fell vacant after Dr. Umesh Jadhav resigned from the party to become BJP candidate for Kalaburagi Lok Sabha constituency, and Kundgol assembly fell vacant after the death of Municipal Administration Minister C.S. Shivalli. While Congress has fielded late minister's wife Kusumavati, Mr. Avinash Jadhav is son of Dr. Umesh Jadhav.
Father-son lead
Umesh G. Jadhav and his son Avinash Jadhav - both contesting on BJP ticket from Kalaburagi Lok Sabha constituency and Chincholi Assembly constituency are leading. Mr. Avinash is contesting from Chincholi after his father, a Congress legislator from Chincholi resigned from the party and joined BJP.
While Dr. Umesh Jadhav is leading against incumbent MP and Congress leader Mallikarjuna Kharge, Mr. Avinash is leading against Congress nominee Subash V. Rathod by a margin of 3,665 votes.
What is happening in Bengaluru?
Amidst what is turning out to be a wave of disappointment for the JDS-Congress coalition in the State, the heart of Bengaluru is throwing up a surprise. Rizwan Arshad of the INC leads P.C. Mohan of the BJP by nearly 27,000 votes. Congress is trailing by more than 60,000 votes in Bengaluru North, and 1.3 lakh votes in Bengaluru South.
Deve Gowda trails
JD(S) chief and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda is trailing behind BJP's G S Basavaraj in the Tumkur constituency. Basavaraj has won four times from Tumkur, thrice on a Congress ticket. Deve Gowda's decision to file his nomination from Tumkur raised a furore in the Congress party – the JD(S) ally in Karnataka. Incumbent Congress MP from Tumkur S P Muddahanumegowda was denied a ticket from the constituency. The Congress is contesting 20 seats in Karnataka, leaving eight for the JD(S). Tumkur, a Congress bastion, was an unusual option for the JD(S) supremo considering he has traditionally contested from Hassan, representing the constituency five times in Parliament. Deve Gowda ceded the Hassan seat to his grandson, Prajwal Revanna, who is making his political debut this year.
How are the bigwigs faring?
Some of the senior coalition leaders, including former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjuna M. Kharge trailing their BJP opponents in Tumakuru Lok Sabha and Kalaburagi Lok Sabha constituencies respectively. Seven time MP and former Minister K.H. Muniyappa and former Chief Minister and Union Minister M. Veerappa Moily are trailing BJP nominees in Kolar Lok Sabha and Chikkaballapur Lok Sabha constituencies respectively
In the much fought Mandya Lok Sabha constituency that generated enough heat between the BJP -backed Independent candidate Sumalatha and Janata Dal Secular candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy, son of Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, the actor-turned politician Sumaltha is leading with a wafer thin margin after trailing him initially.
Trends as of 10:30 a.m.
According to data available as of 10 a.m, the Bharatiya Janata Party is leading in the state in 23 constituencies, followed by the Indian National Congress with 3 seats. H.D. Kumaraswamy led Janata Dal (Secular) is currently leading only in one constituency.
The trends thus far are reflecting the exit polls prediction of the BJP heading for a clean sweep in the state. Last elections, the BJP secured 17 seats, while the Congress secured only 9.
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