Although the Lok Satta Party did not win a single Assembly segment in the State, it still managed to shed the “insignificant underdog” tag with many of its candidates securing respectable vote shares. Ashwin Mahesh, the party’s best known face and urban planning expert, led the pack by securing nearly 12,000 votes in the keenly contested Bommanhalli segment.
Shantala Damle, who was the party’s nominee in the Basavanagudi Assembly constituency, polled 9,071 votes. Civic activist and gynaecologist Meenakshi Bharat polled 7,610 votes in Malleswaram. The party’s candidates in Hebbal and B.T.M. Layout surprised many observers by the votes they secured because both these constituencies were constantly in the news for the brazen manner in which money and muscle was playing a role. Sridhar Pabbisetty secured 6,187 votes in Hebbal and IT executive Ravikrishna Reddy earned 6,596 votes in B.T.M. Layout.
Also significant is the fact that two of these candidates left behind nominees of so-called mainstream parties. Mr. Mahesh polled more votes than the JD (S) nominee R. Saraschandra and Ms. Damle left the KJP nominee Ravikiran behind.
N.S. Mukunda, chairperson of the Central campaign team, said: “Lok Satta candidates gave a tough fight to the traditional parties emerging well ahead of JD(S) and KJP in some constituencies. That all this was done without buying a single vote is a remarkable achievement. I congratulate all our candidates. We redouble our commitment to solving the issues of the people of Karnataka and take our role as political conscience keeper very seriously. We are here to stay and we invite capable and committed public-minded citizens to join our platform.”
