Moily's image helped him win polls

Moily defeated his nearest rival C Ashwatharanayana of the BJP by a margin of 51,381 votes. This is the first time that Moily will be entering the Lok Sabha after two previous unsuccessful attempts. If we take the assembly segment-wise break-up of votes, Moily had an upper hand in Chikkaballapur, Gouribedanur, Bagepalli and Devanahalli, while polled lesser votes compared to his BJP rival in Hosakote, Doddaballapur and Yelahanka.
Moily’s campaign managers had adopted a multi-pronged strategy based on the leader’s image.  Moily’s humble beginnings, his rise to the CM’s post from the grassroots, struck a chord with the electorate.