Karnataka bypolls: Congress ahead in all three Assembly seats

Bengaluru: Ruling Congress in Karnataka was ahead in all three -- Channapatna, Shiggaon and Sandur -- Assembly segments, as the counting of votes was underway on Saturday for by-polls held there.

Congress is maintaining a steady lead in Sandur, the seat considered to be its strong hold, and the party is also a front-runner to bag Shiggaon and Channapatna segments, which were earlier held by BJP and JD(S) respectively.

The by-election to three segments was held on November 13.

The bypolls to Sandur, Shiggaon and Channapatna were necessitated as the seats fell vacant following the election of their respective representatives -- E Tukaram of Congress, former CM Basavaraj Bommai of BJP, and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy of JD(S) to Lok Sabha in May elections.

The bypolls witnessed a straight fight between the ruling Congress and BJP in Sandur and Shiggaon segments, while in Channapatna, JD(S) which is part of the NDA took on the grand old party.

In Channapatna, which witnessed a "high profile" battle, among the three segments, JD(S)' actor-turned-politician Nikhil Kumaraswamy, who is the son of Kumaraswamy and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda's grandson, is trailing against Congress' C P Yogeeshwara by a margin of 24,831 votes, by getting 69,070 votes so far, according to Election Commission.

A five-time MLA from the segment and a former minister, Yogeeshwara, who is also an actor-turned-politician has secured 93,901 votes. He had joined the Congress after quitting BJP ahead of nomination.

BJP and JD(S) leaders had together campaigned for Nikhil in Channapatna.

In Shiggaon, BJP's Bharath Bommai, son of Basavaraj Bommai is trailing with a margin of 14,125 votes against Congress' Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan, who had faced defeat against the former chief minister in the 2023 Assembly polls.

While Bharath Bommai has got 74,860 votes, Pathan has secured 88,985 votes so far, according to the Election Commission.

In Sandur, Bellary MP Tukaram's wife E Annapurna of Congress has maintained her lead in the seat vacated by her husband, against BJP ST Morcha president Bangaru Hanumanthu, by a margin of 9,568 votes.

While Annapurna got 93,051 votes so far, Hanumanthu received 83,483 votes.

With Nikhil Kumaraswamy and Bharath Bommai contesting, the third generation of Gowda and Bommai families were in the fray in this by-poll battle. Both their fathers and grandfathers have served as Karnataka's Chief Ministers in the past.

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Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. It remains to be seen if these polls help the BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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