Chamarajanagar: Congress candidate A.R. Krishnamurthy (ARK), who hit the headlines after losing by just one vote in the 2004 Assembly polls from the then Santemarahalli constituency, has finally triumphed, by registering a resounding victory from Kollegal (SC) Constituency of the district.

Krishnamurthy who secured 1,08,363 votes, defeated his nearest rival N. Mahesh of the BJP, who could muster just 48,844 votes. Krishnamurthy, who won by a margin of over 59,000 votes registered one of the biggest victories in this Assembly polls.

Krishnamurhty who contested as a Janata Dal candidate from the then Santemarahalli Constituency in Chamarajangar district  in the 2004 Assembly polls, had lost by a single vote to late R. Dhruvanarayan of the Congress. After this loss, Krishnamurthy contested several  Assembly and Loksabha polls (Four Assembly and two LS polls from Chamarajanagar), in which he failed to succeed even once in 19 years after his 2004 election debacle.

But now Krishnamurthy has smelt a sweet  victory, winning by a huge margin against BJP candidate N. Mahesh, who is also a former Minister.

A.R. Krishnamurthy is the son of late former Minister and Kerala Governor B. Rachaiah.