Cong- JDS beats BJP 4- 1 in K’taka bypolls
■ Defeat in Ballari a huge setback to BJP
Bengaluru, Nov. 6: Karnataka’s ruling JD( S)Congress alliance on Tuesday won a crucial endorsement trouncing the BJP 4- 1 in byelections for three Lok Sabha and two Assembly seats, with the victory in Ballari ending the saffron rival’s 14year vice- like grip on this parliamentary constituency.
The victories with huge margins came as a Diwali gift and a shot in the arm for the nearly six- monthold alliance ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls after facing frequent questions about its longevity.
The alliance led by JD( S) leader and chief minister H. D. Kumaraswamy won Ballari and Mandya Lok Sabha seats as well as both the Assembly seats — Ramanagara and Jamkhandi. Mr Kumaraswamy’s wife Anitha won from Ramanagara, near Bengaluru.
It was a sort for consolation win for the BJP when it managed to hold on to the Shivamogga Lok Sabha seat.
The BJP held the Shivamogga and Ballari Lok Sabha seats and the JD( S) Mandya while the Congress won Jamkhandi and JD( S) Ramanagara in the May 12 Assembly polls.
The BJP suffered an embarrassing reverse in the mine- rich district of Ballari, a seat it had been winning since 2004 on the back of the clout enjoyed by the controversial Reddy brothers.
Buoyed by the victories in the bypolls which were seen as a barometer of the public mood, Mr Kumaraswamy and Congress state chief
4- 1 result in Karnataka looks like a Test series win under Virat Kohli. Coalition has delivered. — PC, Senior Cong leader
that Dinesh Gundu Rao asserted Lok they would contest the 2019 the Sabha polls together against BJP.
“We will contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections together. As we did this time, we will sit together to chalk out strategies to fight the polls in a coordinated manner,” Mr Kumaraswamy told a press conference. Mr Gundu Rao on his part said: “It ( the electorate) has rejected the BJP, its divisive politics and dictatorial tendencies. We will contest the 2019 election together.
“Look at the margins... It’s clear that people are fed up with the BJP. This anti- people, anti- farmer, antiwomen government at the Centre must go.” Elated over the performance of the ruling alliance candidates, jubilant Congress workers distributed sweets and broke coconuts at various places. “4- 1 result in Karnataka looks like a Test series win under Virat Kohli. Coalition has delivered,” senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram tweeted. Both the coalition partners had put up joint candidates in the bypolls, which was also considered a test of their ties. In Ballari, the Congress stormed the BJP citadel when V. S. Ugrappa won the seat by more than 2.43 lakh votes over the BJP’s J. Shantha, the sister of B. Sriramulu, a key aide of the Reddy brothers and a former MP from there.