Lok Sabha election result 2019: Big setback for Congress-JD(S) combine BJP sweeps Karnataka - Hindustan Times
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Lok Sabha election result 2019: Big setback for Congress-JD(S) combine BJP sweeps Karnataka

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | By
May 23, 2019 04:07 PM IST

Lok Sabha election result 2019: Three Congress veterans Mallikarjun Kharge (from Gulbarga), KH Muniyappa (from Kolar) and M Veerappa Moily (from Chikkaballapur) were all trailing their rivals from the BJP.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was leading in 23 seats as counting leads came in for Lok Sabha elections. The Congress was leading in 3 seats, JD(S) in one and others in another seat.

Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy addresses the media in Hubballi, Karnataka.(PTI File)
Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy addresses the media in Hubballi, Karnataka.(PTI File)

Vote count in the 28 parliamentary seats, which started at 8am, is under way in all the 28 counting centers across the state.

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Click here for Lok Sabha Election Results 2019

The Lok Sabha election in Karnataka was held in the second and third phase of polling on April 18 and April 23 with 14 parliamentary constituencies voting in each of the two rounds.

The BJP had won 17 out of the 28 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha election in Karnataka, the only southern state where the ruling party at the Centre has consistently performed well. The Congress got nine and JD(S) two in the triangular contest in the last general election.

The exit polls on Sunday showed the BJP well placed to win most Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka.

Results of the Lok Sabha polls and the by-elections to two assembly constituencies — Chincholi and Kundgol — is also crucial for the ruling Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition in the state. The coalition had come together not just to form the government in the state but to also try and dent the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has won more than half the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the last three general elections.

Click here for full Lok Sabha elections 2019 Coverage

Among the 28 seats, the Mandya constituency in which chief minister HD Kumaraswamy’s son Nikhil went up against Sumalatha, wife of the late film star and former Union minister MH Ambareesh, was the most bitterly contested.

The battle was so pitched that there was an increase in turnout of over 8% in the constituency as it went on to record its highest ever voting percentage of 80.23%. One of the reasons Sumalatha put up a good fight despite the might of the JD(S) in the district was because she received the tacit support of the Congress leaders from Mandya. As a result, the outcome in this seat could affect the coalition.

With former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda deciding to vacate his Hassan seat in favour of his other grandson Prajwal Revanna and picking the Tumkur seat for himself, there was disenchantment from even within his own party at the decision to field so many members of his family.

Elsewhere, in Gulbarga Congress veteran Mallikarjun Kharge, too, faced a scare after a group of dissident former Congressmen ganged up against him. The BJP fielded Congress rebel Umesh Jadhav as its candidate.

In Shimoga, where there was a battle between the sons of two former chief ministers, too, there was an increase in turnout. Here, Madhu Bangarappa of the JD(S), who is the younger son of former chief minister S Bangarappa, was pitted against BJP state president and former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa’s son BY Raghavendra.

Coordination between the coalition partners was expected to provide it with an edge in the Mysuru seat, especially. However, earlier this month JD(S) minister GT Devegowda claimed that the JD(S) workers had voted for the BJP candidate rather than the Congress one.

Apart from the Lok Sabha results, the coalition is also waiting on the outcome of the bypolls to the Chincholi and Kundgol assembly seats. Both seats were won by the Congress in last year’s elections. At present, the coalition enjoys the support of 117 MLAs and a change in these seats will likely boost the BJP’s hopes of ensuring that it forms the government in the state soon.

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