Saffron Party leads in 12 seats, Cong. 2, Ind. 1 and JD(S) none

Bengaluru: Karnataka’s ruling BJP is heading for a sweep in by-polls the party needed to win to retain power in the State. The party is leading in 12 of 15 seats, in a big boost for Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa’s four-month-old Government, formed after defections from the previous Congress-JD(S) coalition. 

If the trends convert into victory, the BJP’s number will go up from 105 to 117, which is well ahead of the halfway mark of 111 in a  222-member Assembly.

Locally, in Hunsur, H.P. Manjunath of Congress is set for a win against Adagooru H. Vishwanath of BJP. In K.R. Pet, K.C. Narayanagowda of BJP is set to make history by opening the BJP’s account in a traditional JD(S) stronghold. He is set to defeat B.L. Devaraj of JD(S).

Conceding defeat, the Congress said voters had “accepted defectors.” 

By-polls were held last Thursday (Dec.5) for 15 of 17 Assembly seats left vacant by MLAs who resigned in July, causing the collapse of the Congress-JD(S) coalition. The BJP had to win at least seven seats for a majority in the Assembly, which will have 222 members after the by-polls. 

Elections were held for Hunsur, K.R. Pet, Mahalakshmi Layout, Shivajinagar, Yeshwantpur, Hirekerur, Ranebennur, Gokak, Athani, Kagawad, Vijayanagar-Hospet, Hosakote, Yellapur, K.R. Puram and Chikkaballapur. Two seats (Rajarajeshwarinagar and Maski) are still vacant as the EC has not yet announced the by-polls schedule due to cases pending in the Karnataka High Court. 

The BJP currently has 105 MLAs and the support of one independent candidate (H. Nagesh), while the Congress has 66 and the JD(S) 34. With by-election results that will be officially out in the evening, the BJP is all set to have 117 seats, Congress 68, JD(S) 34 and others 3 — Sharath Bachchegowda, H. Nagesh and expelled BSP MLA N. Mahesh.

After a dramatic stand-off that included a showdown at a Mumbai hotel, the MLAs who quit were disqualified by the then Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar and barred from elections till 2023. The MLAs got approval from the Supreme Court that said that the MLAs can contest the by-elections. 

D.K. Shivakumar  reacts

“We have to agree with the mandate of the voters of  these 15 Constituencies. People have accepted the defectors. We have accepted defeat. I don’t think we have to be disheartened,” Karnataka Congress leader D.K. Shivakumar said.

Counting of votes is in progress and the BJP is leading in 12 seats and Congress is leading in two seats and one Independent candidate (Sharath Bachchegowda) looks poised for a win. The JD(S) is not leading in any of the seats, according to the Election Commission. 

All winners will be Ministers: An elated Chief Minister Yediyurappa hailed the by-poll results and said the disqualified legislators who win will be made Ministers in his Cabinet. “We have won 12 out of the 15 seats,” Yediyurappa announced. “They (disqualified MLAs) sacrificed for us. We’ve promised to make them Ministers. There’s no question of going back on this promise,” Yediyurappa said. He said he will visit New Delhi in the coming days to hold  talks with the party’s central leadership. Yediyurappa was seen celebrating with his son B.Y. Vijayendra as the BJP galloped ahead within an hour of counting, establishing a lead in about a dozen seats. 

PM Modi on popular mandate

“The people of Karnataka have ensured that the Congress or the JD(S) will not be able to betray them. It’s a message for all States that the public will punish those who go against the popular mandate,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a rally in Jharkhand today.

Twelve of the 15 seats were previously held by Congress and the remaining three by the JD(S). The election saw former allies Congress and JD(S) contest separately. Relations between the two, never smooth, broke down after their coalition crashed.