NEW DELHI: BJP leaders who defected from the party due to ticket denial have received a mixed response from voters in Karnataka. While two BJP turncoats appear to be heading towards a comfortable victory, others are struggling to gain voter support.
According to the Election Commission, former chief minister Jagadish Shettar is heading towards a humiliating defeat in his home turn of Hubbali-Dharwad Central.
Former deputy chief minister Laxman Savadi and NY Gopalkrishna, both now in Congress, are comfortably positioned for victory after 10 rounds of vote counting in their respective Assembly constituencies: Athani in Belagavi district and Molakalmuru in Chitradurga district.
CV Chandrasekhar, the only BJP turncoat who secured a ticket from a party other than Congress, initially took the lead but slipped to a distant third position after 10 rounds of counting, trailing behind his BJP and Congress rivals in the Koppal constituency.
Apart from Chandrasekhar, the other four rebels joined Congress and received tickets.
In Athani, prominent Lingayat figure Laxman Sangappa Savadi is leading his BJP rival by over 23,000 votes after the 10th round of vote counting. His competitor Mahesh Irangouda Kumathalli could only secure 22,495 votes.
In the Gurmitkal segment, former minister and five-time MLA Baburao Chinchansur is in a close contest with his Janata Dal (Secular) opponent Sharana Gowda Kandakur. After 13 rounds of counting, Chinchansur secured 43,764 votes against the JDS leader’s 47,725 votes. BJP’s Anpur Lalita Moulali could only secure 7,196 votes. The Congress candidate has led in the segment for several rounds.
In Molakalmuru, Congress candidate NY Gopalkrishna is leading with a margin of over 15,000 votes against BJP’s S Thippeswamy (65,347) after 15 rounds of counting.
In Hubbali-Dharwad Central, Shettar, a figure with historic ties to BJP’s ideological parent RSS, failed to turn the tide in his favor and is heading towards a crushing defeat. After the 11th round of vote counting, he secured 29,340 votes compared to BJP’s Mahesh Tenginakai (64,910).