Karnataka polls: BJP lost 4 out of 5 closest-fought seats

As the BJP fell short of the half-way mark in the Karnataka polls, results show that it lost four of the five closely-contested seats where the victory margin was less than a thousand votes.

In fact, the fate of all the five constituencies was decided by a margin of less than 700 votes.

While the Congress won Maski, Pavagada, Hirekerur and Kundgol, where the difference between the number of votes polled by the winning candidate and the closest opponent varied from a meagre 213 to 634 votes, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won Aland seat by just 697 votes.

The BJP candidates came in second place in Maski, Hirekerur and Kundgol, whereas in Pavagada (Tumkur district), Congress candidate Venkataramanappa polled 72,974 votes to defeat Janata Dal (Secular)'s K.M. Thimmarayappa by 409 votes.

In Maski constituency in Raichur district, Congress candidate Pratapgouda Patil defeated BJP's Basanagowda Turvihal by 213 votes. Patil polled 60,387 votes against Turvihal's 60,174.

In Haveri district's Hirekerur, Congress's Basavanagouda Patil (72,461 votes) beat BJP's Ujaneshwara Banakar by 555 votes whereas in Dharwad district's Kundgol Channabasappa Sathyappa Shivalli (64,871 votes) defeated Chikkanagoudra Siddanagoud Ishwaragod by 634 votes.

However, Congress candidate B.R. Patil lost Gulbarga's Aland constituency by 697 votes to BJP's Guttedar Subhash Rukmayya who polled 76,815 votes.

(Vishav can be contacted at vishav@ians.in)

--IANS

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