Daijiworld Media Network - Mandya (DC)
Mandya, Nov 6: Congress-JDS combine has once again crushed the BJP in the state by-poll battle. The JD(S) candidate in Mandya L R Shivarame Gowda has won by more than one lac votes by defeating the BJP.
Shivarame Gowda had taken a huge lead against BJP's Dr Siddaramaiah in the initial round of counting itself.
L R Shivarame Gowda polled 494,728 votes while Dr Siddaramaiah (BJP) polled 205,357 votes.
The by-polls assume significance as the ruling coalition partners contested together, terming it a "prelude" to the Lok Sabha polls next year, and called for a similar "grand secular alliance" against the BJP at the national level.
Shivarame Gowda
The announcement of the by-polls for the Lok Sabha seats came as a surprise to all the three major political parties in the state the Congress, BJP and JD(S) who questioned the need for the exercise when the general elections are due early next year.
Mandya, which is at the heart of the Vokkaliga belt of southern Karnataka, was expected to be a cake walk for the ruling Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition but Congress’ decision to leave the seat for the JD(S) as part of their seat-sharing arrangement, led to dissidence within the party coming in to the open.
In these southern districts, the Congress and JD(S) are bitter rivals and the BJP is a minor force.
Mandya saw the lowest voter turnout at 53.93%, down from 71.41% in 2014, in all the parliamentary and assembly seats, where the by-polls were held on Saturday.