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Karnataka bypolls: BJP wins Sindgi; CM Bommai says taking Hangal defeat ‘seriously'
Congress' Srinivas Mane won by a margin of 7,373 votes defeating his closest rival Shivaraj Sajjanar of the BJP in Hangal.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday failed to retain the Hangal constituency as the Congress emerged victorious in the bypolls that were held in the constituency on October 30. The BJP, however, managed to win in the Sindgi assembly segment as it wrested the seat from the Janata Dal (Secular).
Congress' Srinivas Mane won by a margin of 7,373 votes defeating his closest rival Shivaraj Sajjanar of the BJP in Hangal. Mane secured 87,490 votes. In Sindgi, Ramesh Bhusanur of the BJP defeated Congress' Ashok Managuli by a margin of 31,185 votes. Bhusanur won by a margin of 31,185 votes.
The bypolls in Singi and Hangal were necessitated due to deaths of JD(S) legislators MC Managuli and CM Udasi, respectively.
Karnataka chief minister Basavraj Bommai said he is taking the Hangal defeat seriously and all steps to convert the loss into a win will be taken. Bommai campaigned extensively in the Shiggaon assembly segment in Haveri district, which is his constituency and neighbours Hangal, and the loss is seen as a setback to the new chief minister of Karnataka.
“Elections are won and lost. These by-elections are fought on particular time and issues, and its outcome is not a complete verdict. However, I have taken this election setback very seriously and we will do all the corrections,” Bommai was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
“We will take the loss seriously and take all the necessary measures politically and administratively to convert the loss into win,” he added. The bypolls were the first major electoral change following his taking charge as Karnataka chief minister.
Bommai, however, said that Congress candidate Mane worked for the people during the Covid-19 pandemic, attributing his work as a reason behind his win. “The winning candidate from Congress Srinivas Maane has also done some work at the time of the Covid-19 pandemic, for which people of Hangal supported him,” Bommai was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
