Congress candidate K. Jayaprakash Hegde, who emerged victorious in the byelection to the Lok Sabha from Udupi-Chikmagalur constituency, on Wednesday said that he dedicated his victory to party workers and voters.
He told presspersons here that he expected to win by a margin of over 50,000 votes. He would take up the problems regarding Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ), railways, widening of national highway 66 in the the Lok Sabha. He would also discuss the problems caused by the thermal plant of Udupi Power Corporation Ltd (UPCL) with the party leaders.
He would also look into the special package to be implemented in the naxalite-affected areas. He would seek an inquiry into the delay in the implementation of Varahi Irrigation Project, Mr. Hegde said.
He said even if former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa had campaigned for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), there would have been no difference in the result, only the margin of victory might have been reduced slightly. This was because voters had made up their mind to vote for the Congress. If the Janata Dal (Secular) had not fielded S.L. Bhoje Gowda, the Congress would have got more votes. This was also a lesson for non-serious candidates including, Mr. Bhoje Gowda, he said.
He would not like to comment on whether this was a setback to Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda as he had vacated the seat. “But it may be a setback for him,” he added as an after-thought.
On factors that led to his victory, Mr. Hegde said that people liked him and thought of him as a sincere candidate. “I will attend Parliament regularly and raise issues regarding my constituency and work for its development,” he said.
Unexpected
BJP candidate V. Sunil Kumar said that the result was unexpected. “This is my personal defeat and I will not hold anyone else responsible for it. It had not been possible for me to reach all people in 18 days after announcement of my candidature for the bypoll. This might be the reason for my defeat,” he said.
“I will not lose courage due to this defeat and will tour the constituency from tomorrow. We will take the next Assembly and 2014 elections as a challenge and start working,” Mr. Kumar said.
Propaganda
Mr. Bhoje Gowda said that he accepted the people's verdict. The Congress had launched a propaganda that if minorities voted for the JD(S), the BJP would win, hence, the votes of minorities went to the Congress.
