05-27-2008, 11:29 AM
In Bagalkot, BJP makes a clean sweep
Special Correspondent
BJP wins all the seven seats in the district
Many Congress heavyweights have been defeated
BAGALKOT: An increase of a whopping 5.76 per cent votes in favour of the Congress was not enough to boost its tally in Bagalkot district. And a drop in the vote share of 0.7 per cent did not stop the BJP from winning all the seven seats in the district.
The Congress, which went all out to regain lost ground in Bagalkot district, secured 26.97 per cent of the total votes in the district. But that was not enough to stop the BJP surge, and the party lost all the seven seats
Many political heavyweights including the former Ministers H.Y. Meti (Bagalkot); B.B. Chimmankatti (Badami); Ajaykumar Sarnaik (Bilagi); R.C. Thimmapur (Mudhol); the former Union Minister Siddu Nyamagouda (Jamkhandi); Kannada actor and theatre personality Umasri (Terdal); and Vijayanand Kashappannavar (Hungund) were defeated.
The BJP overcame the problems of internal differences and open dissidence and gave a better performance compared to the 2004 elections.
The partyâs performance, as far as the vote share is concerned, has been far below expectations. It has come down to 32.19 per cent. The winners who brought the honours to the BJP included the former Minister Govind Karjol (Mudhol); Siddu Savadi (Terdal), Srikant Kulkarni (Jamkhandi); M.K. Pattanshetty (Badami); Doddangouda Patil (Hungund); Murugesh Nirani (Bilagi); and Veeranna Charanthimutt (Bagalkot City).
In Bijapur district too, the BJP put up a good show winning five of the eight seats, despite the vote share of the party coming down from 19.53 per cent in 2004 to 17.51 per cent. The Congress party secured 1.87 per cent votes more than the BJP, but could win only three seats as against the five seats won by the BJP. Its vote share dropped to 19.38 per cent. The vote share of the Janata Dal (S) remained more or less the same at 9.83 per cent, but the party failed to win even a single seat. One of the surprise losers in Bijapur district is the former Union Minister Basanagouda Patil Yatnal who lost to political greenhorn A.S. Patil Nadahalli by a margin of nearly 27,000 votes. Another surprise loser is Ravikant Patil who suffered defeat in Indi constituency.
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They are the kingmakers of 2008
Special Correspondent
â Photo: K. Murali Kumar
Joining hands: BJPâs chief ministerial candidate B.S. Yeddyurappa along with the supporting independent candidates Goolihatti Shekar and Shivaraj Thangadagi, during the BJP legislature party meeting in Bangalore on Monday.
BANGALORE: It has been a dream win for the independent candidates who have made it to the 13th Legislative Assembly. For, they hold the key to the formation of the next government. Incidentally, four of these independent MLAs are Dalits.
Goolihatti Shekar
Mr. Shekar, who belongs to the Scheduled Caste, has been elected from Hosadurga constituency in Chitradurga District.
He is basically a granite merchant. He was associated with the Janata Dal (Secular) and was a close associate of Janata Dal (S) leader Y.S.V. Datta. Though the JD(S) had offered him ticket, Mr. Shekar decided to contest as an independent as he feared that the dominant Lingayat community in Hosadurga may not support him if he entered the fray as Janata Dal (S) candidate. Incidentally, Hosadurga constituency has a history of electing independent candidates to the Assembly.
Shivaraj Tangadagi
Mr. Shivaraj who is also a Dalit has made it to the Assembly from Kanakagiri (Reserved) Constituency in Koppal district.
He too is a granite merchant. Though Shivaraj started his political career with the Congress, he moved to the Bharatiya Janata Party and was the State vice-president of the BJP Yuva Morcha.
He is said to be a relative of the BJP leader Arvind Limbavali. Though he had aspired for the BJP ticket from Kanakagiri, the party had turned down his request following opposition from the partyâs Raitha Morcha leader H.M. Thipperudraswamy.
Varthur Prakash
Mr. Prakash, who hails from Varthur on the outskirts of Bangalore, has won from Kolar constituency as an independent.
A close follower of Siddaramaiah, Mr. Prakash was denied Congress ticket. He is into real estate business and belongs to the Kuruba community. He is also a member of the Bangalore Urban Zilla Panchayat.
He has trounced the former Minister Srinivasa Gowda of the Congress.
P.M. Narendraswamy
Mr. Narendraswamy, a staunch Congress worker, has been elected from Malavalli (Reserved) constituency in Mandya district. He holds a degree in civil engineering and hails from a political family. He had unsuccessfully contested the 1999 and 2004 Assembly elections from Malavalli on Congress ticket. After the party denied him a ticket, he contested as an independent. He is said to be a personal follower of the former Chief Minister S.M. Krishna as well as Siddaramaiah.
Venkataramanappa
Mr. Venkataramanappa is the third-time MLA from Pavagada (Reserved) Constituency in Tumkur district. A school dropout, 58-year-old Venkataramanappa is an agriculturist. He was elected to the Assembly in 1989 and 1999. He contested as a Congress rebel after the party denied him ticket.
D. Sudhakar
Mr. Sudhakar, who was elected to the previous Assembly from Challakere as a Congress candidate, has now won as an independent from Hiriyur constituency. Mr. Sudhakar is into mining-related business and is a relative of the former Challakere MLA Jayanna. He belongs to the Jain community. He is said to be a follower of Congress leader D.K. Shivakumar.