JOIN USMost ministers in State help BJP win more votes
If at all he is still committed to his statement, he should give marching orders to Revenue minister Karunakara Reddy from the Cabinet.
Karunakara Reddy is MLA from Harapanahalli, which comes under the Davangere LS constituency. In the constituency, the Congress candidate S S Mallikarjun has gained 12,360 votes more than BJP candidate G M Siddeswara. There has been a strong resentment among the BJP cadres in Davangere that Karunakara Reddy did not involve himself in the campaign this time. In the assembly elections he had won with a margin of 25,218 votes against his nearest rival M P Prakash of the Congress.
The second in the poor performers’ list stands Minister for Food and Civil Supplies Hartal Halappa. He could not fetch more votes for the BJP candidate in his constituency - Soraba. Halappa could not outsmart Bangarappa, who represented the constituency seven times. The BJP candidate got 4,592 votes lesser than Bangarappa. In Shikaripura, represented by Yeddyurappa, BJP candidate Raghavendra has garnered 75,149 votes, which is 32,543 more than Bangarappa’s votes.
This time D S Veeraiah of the BJP had expected a victory from Kolar. But Muzrai Minister S N Krishnaiah Setty has not been able to help Veeraiah. Setty represents Malur in the legislative assembly.
Here, Setty’s charm has not worked as it did in the last assembly elections. Setty had won from the constituency with a margin of 52,301 votes. Then the BJP had secured 78,280 votes and the Congress was reduced to the third position with only 9,496 votes. Whereas this time, Congress gained 33,201 votes. The BJP could not get more than 46,375 votes, which is lesser than over 32,000 votes compared to the tally in 2008.
Except Excise minister Katta Subramanya Naidu, all ministers representing Bangalore have succeeded to secure more votes for the BJP in their respective constituencies. In Hebbal, which is part of the Bangalore North constituency, Congress candidate Jaffer Sharief has got 567 more votes than his rival D B Chandre Gowda of the BJP. Interestingly, it was Katta who worked out strategies for Chandre Gowda’s campaign in the constituency. His followers were active during the campaign. But in his own constituency he could not get more votes for the party
However, RDPR minister Shobha Karandlaje, MLA from Yeshwanthpura, which is also part of Bangalore North constituency, has succeeded to get over 18,000 more votes for the BJP in her constituency than the Congress candidate’s tally.
Similarly, Suresh Kumar (Rajajinagar), Aravind Limbavali (Mahadevapura), R Ashok (Padmanabhanagar), and V Somanna, who recently joined the BJP after resigning as Congress MLA from Govindarajanagar, have succeeded to secure considerably good number of votes than the Congress party in their constituencies. The BJP was polled 57,394 votes in Govindarajanagar, while the Congress got 48,350 votes.
In Shiggaon, Water Resources minister Basavaraj Bommai secured a huge margin of 27,836 votes for BJP candidate Prahlad Joshi (Dharwad). Congress candidate Majunath Kunnur secured 34,028 votes, while the BJP gained 61,864 votes in the constituency.
In Sirsi (Uttara Kannada), represented by Education minister Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri the BJP got 6,277 more votes than the Congress.
City Ministers’ performance
4 independents prove their mettle
Five MLAs, who won as independents, are ministers in the Yeddyurappa Cabinet. Their performance in the election is crucial as the CM may drop them from his Cabinet at any time as the party is now in no need of their support to prove majority in the House.
Interestingly, of these five, four have succeeded to get more margin for the BJP candidates in their respective constituencies. Social Welfare minister D Sudhakar, Sports minister Gulihatti Shekhar and Sericulture minister Venkataramanappa have secured lead for BJP’s Chitradurga candidate Janardhana Swamy. Shivaraj Tangadagi too has done well in Kanakagiri for the BJP.
But Malavalli MLA and Women and Child Development minister Narendra Swamy’s presence has not worked in favour of BJP candidate L R Shivarame Gowda in Mandya. In his constituency the BJP had been reduced to the third position with 18,861 votes.
Another independent MLA Varthur Prakash, who identified with the BJP and became chairman of Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Board, reportedly worked for Congress candidate K H Muniyappa in Kolar. Though he could not secure a huge margin for Muniyappa, his efforts have helped the Congress win in the constituency.MLA Varthur Prakash, who identified with the BJP and became chairman of Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Board, reportedly worked for Congress candidate K H Muniyappa in Kolar. Though he could not secure a huge margin for Muniyappa, his efforts have helped the Congress win in the constituency.