K'taka by-polls: Congress-JDS wins 4 out of 5 seats

Diwali celebrations have begun a day early for Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) cadres as the alliance won four out of five seats in the recently-held Karnataka by-polls.

The by-elections to three Lok Sabha and two assembly seats were seen as a crucial test for the alliance, which witnessed rough patches since it established the state government in May.

The alliance candidates won Jamakhandi and Ramanagara assembly seats and Bellary and Mandya parliamentary seats, while Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged victorious in Bellary.

After the end of the final round of counting (17) in Jamakhandi, Congress candidate Anand Siddu won by a margin of 39,480 votes over BJP's Kulkarni Shrikant.

Bellary Lok Sabha constituency, which has been the BJP's stronghold for the last decade and a half, saw a major setback as V S Ugrappa of Congress secured 6,28,365 votes while J Shantha of the BJP securing 3,85,204 votes.

JD (S) candidate Anitha Kumaraswamy won the Ramanagara assembly seat by a margin of 1,09,137 votes. Meanwhile, JD (S) LR Shivaramegowda defeated BJP's Dr. Siddaramaiah by a massive margin of 3,24,943 votes in Mandya Lok Sabha seat.

In Shimoga, BJP candidate B Y Raghavendra defeated his rival Madhu Bangarappa of JD(S) by a margin of 52,148 votes in Shimoga Lok Sabha by-election.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Dinesh Gundu Rao opined that the alliance's by-poll victory will send a clear message to the entire country that the time for change has come.

The Karnataka Congress also tweeted a 'thank you' message to the voters and said, "We are grateful to all the voters who came out in huge numbers to support us. People of Karnataka have sent a clear message to the BJP."

JD(S) leader HD Deve Gowda also thanked the people of Karnataka for supporting the "development-centric administration of JDS-INC Government."

The by-poll results are a big boost for the ruling Congress-JDS alliance, which was facing questions of longevity after BJP emerged as the single largest party in the state by winning 104 out of 224 seats in the assembly election in May.