Hanagal Bypoll: Setback for K’taka CM Bommai in Home Turf, Cong Win Boosts Party’s Morale
The has suffered a huge loss in Hanagal to the Congress in chief minister Basavaraj Bommai’s home district Haveri. Meanwhile, trends show that the party is going towards victory in Sindgi. Congress candidate Srinivas Mane won the Hanagal bypoll with a margin of 7598 votes. He defeated BJP candidate Shivaraja Sajjanr. The big loss in Hanagal has come as a shock to Bommai, who is just completing 100 days in office.
In Hanagal, the Congress won 87,113 votes, the BJP 79,515 votes and the JD(S) 921 votes. Bommai had camped in Hanagal to ensure a BJP victory and was hoping to win by a small margin as the Congress candidate is popular in the area. But, Tuesday’s results have dampened the spirits in the Bommai camp and his rivals in the party are secretly relishing the outcome.
Hanagal is a neighbouring constituency of Bommai’s predecessor and BJP stalwart BS Yediyurappa. After his sudden ouster, Yediyurappa has been sulking quietly and this too seems to have contributed to BJP’s defeat there. For the record, Yediyurappa campaigned, but not aggressively. Another important leader from the region and former chief minister, Jagadish Shettar, was also not active in the constituency during the campaign. Local political analysts said that Lingayat sub caste politics also worked against the BJP candidate.
ALSO READ | Bypoll Results 2021 LIVE Updates
The main opposition, Congress, led by Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah and KPCC president DK Shivakumar campaigned aggressively till the very last day, enthusing the party cadre. The winning candidate of the Congress, Srinivasa Mane’s personal popularity also played a major role in handing out a huge defeat to Bommai on his home turf. Mane who had narrowly lost the 2018 Assembly elections to BJP’s the late CM Udasi did not leave the constituency and did a lot of good work during the lockdown.
The win in Hanagal is expected to boost the morale of Congress workers across the State.
The BJP faction that is opposed to Bommai may demand accountability and Yediyurappa may also find the opportunity to demand his pound of flesh, if the party wants his services in the coming days.
Rude Shock for Congress in Sindgi
BJP’s likely win in Sindgi in the Bijapur district has come as a rude shock to the Congress that had fielded a JD(S) leader from the constituency. The personal stocks of PWD minister Govinda Karjol, who was BJP election in charge, can go up after this huge victory.
The JD(S), which had fielded Muslim candidates in both the seats, suffered a humiliating defeat by not securing the security deposit of even one of those candidates. The entire Gowda clan had campaigned there for over two weeks.
The Congress had alleged a “match-fixing” between the BJP and the JD(S) to split the Muslim votes. The results have proved that Muslims tactically voted for the Congress ignoring the JD(S).
Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Coronavirus News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Telegram.
( News Source :Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Rashtra News staff and is published from a www.news18.com feed.)
Related searches :
