Kith and kin of BJP leaders fare well

The BJP had won in all the five constituencies where it fielded relatives of the party senior leaders.  Chief Minister Yeddyurappa had attracted wrath from within the party as he supported candidature of his son Raghavendra from Shimoga. Finally he succeeded in getting the ticket and also getting him elected. PWD Minister C M Udasi strived hard to get the ticket for his son Shivakumar Udasi and proved the party’s selection did not go wrong.

The Reddy brothers of Bellary had their choice while selecting candidates for Bellary and Raichur. Ramulu’s sister J Shantha was the candidate from Bellary and his close relative Sanna Pakkirappa from Raichur. Both the candidates won. Only disappointing note for the BJP in Bellary is BJP candidate won with a thin margin of 2,243 votes. Horticulture Minister Umesh Katti’s brother Ramesh Katti also won from Chikkodi.

However the kith and kin factor has not worked well for the Congress. Senior Congress leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa’s son S S Mallikarjun, the party’s candidate from Davangere, lost the battle to BJP candidate G M Siddeshwara. In the JD(S) the father-son duo - H D Deve Gowda and H D Kumaraswamy have won with huge margins.