LIVE updates from Karnataka by-elections: BJP is leading in both RR Nagar (Rajarajeshwarinagar) and Sira seat count begins in assembly. It is a three-way fight between the BJP, Congress and JD-S in the by-elections of the assembly, as well as in four segments of the Council. The assembly was held on November 3, while the Council elections were held on October 28. The RR Nagar assembly seat is in southwestern Bengaluru, while the Sira assembly seat is in the Tumkur district.
Here are the LIVE updates from the Karnataka by-elections:
– BJP candidates N Muniratna and Rajesh Gowda respectively lead in the assembly seats of RR Nagar and Sira. According to the results of the count at 9 am, BJP’s Munirathna leads in RR Nagar with 9,950 votes, while Congressional candidate Kusuma has obtained 4,890 votes. Krishnamurthy from JD (S) has received 2,340 votes so far. In Sira, BJP’s Rajesh Gowda has received 1,202 votes so far, while Congress’s Jayachandra has 890. JD (S) ‘s Ammajamma is behind with 221 votes.
– The result may not change the political dynamics immediately, but it will certainly have an impact on the leadership of the three main parties in the fray: BJP, Congress and JDS. It is a choice that Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has to win at any cost to save his chair. Former CM and JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy does not want Congress to win while the state Congress led by DK Shivakumar cannot afford to lose. In a way, it is a triangular contest between Yediyurappa, Kumaraswamy, and Shivakumar.
– The Sira assembly vote was necessitated by the death of legislator Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) B Satyanarayana in a private hospital on August 5 after a prolonged illness. The JD-S presented Satyanarayana’s widow, Ammajamma, as its candidate, while Rajesh Gowda is the nominee of the ruling BJP in the triangle contest.
– Congressional candidate in the Sira Assembly by-elections, TB Jayachandra, and his wife GH Nirmala tested positive for Covid, but are asymptomatic at this time. “Jayachandra and Nirmala, who tested positive for coronavirus
They have been admitted to a private city hospital, “Congressional state unit spokesman Ravi Gowda said Monday. TB Jayachandra, 71, is a former minister of state.
– TB Jayachandra had lost the 2018 Assembly election from the same seat by a margin of 10,000 votes. He has held important ministerial portfolios in the governments of SM Krishna and Siddaramaiah in the past.
– RR Nagar’s by-election of the assembly was necessitated by the resignation of N Muniratna in July 2019, who is the BJP candidate after he defected from Congress in November 2019. Congress sent a rookie H Kusuma, a widow from former IAS officer DK Ravi, and JD-U lined up V Krishna Murthy.
– As RR Nagar constituency has a large number of Vokkaligas, a politically dominant community in the state, the candidates for Congress and JD-S are Vokkaligas, while Muniratna is a Naidu.
– It is an important choice for Chief Minister Yediyurappa, as his rivals within the BJP criticize him citing old age and family interference, once again. For Shivakumar of Congress, it is a battle of “life and death”, as both seats are in his area of influence: the heart of Vokkaliga in the Old Mysore region. And for JDS, it’s a matter of survival for the Gowdas, as the area is believed to be their stronghold.
– For JDS, even if it loses both seats to the BJP, a congressional defeat will at least give the Gowdas, whose political actions are steadily declining, breathing space. A Congressional victory will force the Gowdas to cede Vokkaliga space to the “rising star” Shivakumar, who is also from the same caste and region.
– strict COVID-19 Measures have been taken at the counting centers and orders for the prohibition of alcoholic beverages have been issued from 6 am to 12 pm in the electoral districts of RR Nagar and Sira.
– A voting record of 82.31 percent was recorded in Sira, while RR Nagar was only 45.24 percent. Around 6.76 lakh of voters were eligible to vote in the twin by-elections. In RR Nagar, only 45.24 percent of 4.6 lakh voters exercised their right to vote, while in Sira, a whopping 82.31 percent of 2.15 lakh voters cast their vote.
– Biennial elections for four Council seats were also held on October 28 in the districts of Karnataka West Graduates, Karnataka North-East Teachers, Bangalore Teachers and Karnataka South-East Graduates. At West Graduates, 70.11 percent of the vote was registered, followed by 75% at South-East Graduates, 73.32% at North-East Teachers, and 66% at Bangalore Teachers.
– In the biennial Council elections, 40 candidates from the BJP, Congress, JD-S and independents disputed the four seats. Of the retired candidates, R Chowda Reddy Thoopalli from JD-S returned to reply from South-East Graduates, SV Sankanur from BJP from West Graduates, Sharanappa Mattur from the North-East Teachers Congress, and Puttanna from BJP from Bangalore Teachers districts.
– In Graduates of the Southeast, 15 were contested, including Chidanand Gowda from BJP and Ramesh Babu from Congress. Two BJP rebels, ADT Srinivasa and Haraluru Lepakshi, were also in the fray as independents in South-East Graduates. At West Graduates, 11 were in the fray, including RM Kuberappa (Congress) and KS Channappa (JD-S). The JD-S, however, has repudiated Chennappa and is backing the independent Basavaraj Gurikar in the West Graduates contest.
– At North-East Teachers, five competed, including Timmayya Purle (JD-S), Shashil Namoshi (BJP) and Vatal Nagaraj, President of the Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha regional team. ANamoshi had won from the seat twice before. At Bangalore Teachers, nine were in the fray, including R Praveen Peter (Congress) and AP Ranganath (JD-S). In total, 2.34,718 voters were eligible to exercise their right to vote in 549 polling places in the 4 electoral districts.
– Of the 75 seats on the Council, 25 are elected from the assembly, 25 from local bodies across the state, 7 from each Graduate and Teacher constituency and 11 are nominated by the state governor on the recommendation of the prime minister or of the state cabinet. In the 75-member Council, the BJP has 28 seats, Congress 27, JD-S 14, 1 independent and 1 president, while 4 are vacant.
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