Yeddyurappa wins, aide Shobha loses

Former chief minister and Karnataka Janata Party (KJP) president B.S. Yeddyurappa won from Shikaripura Wednesday in his home district Shimoga, but his close aide Shoba Karandlaje lost badly from Rajaji Nagar in northwest Bangalore.

Though the KJP contested all 223 constituencies, it could win only in six. But it hurt the outgoing BJP's prospects all over the state, enabling the Congress to wrest power after seven years.

Yeddyurappa, who polled 69,126 votes, defeated his nearest Congress rival H.S. Shantaveerappa Gowda by 24,425 votes.

BJP's S.H. Manjunatha came fourth with 2,383 votes and behind Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) candidate H. Balegar (15,007 votes).

After leading the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to power for the first time in south India and becoming chief minister in 2008, Yeddyurappa was forced to quit in July 2011 following his indictment by the ombudsman (Lokayuktha) in a multi-crore mining scam.

With the sole objective of defeating the BJP in the election, Yeddyurappa floated the KJP, yet to be recognised officially by the Election Commission.

Shobha, who was the lone woman minister in the BJP government, lost to BJP's law and parliamentary minister Suresh Kumar and came third behind Congress nominee R. Manjula Naidu.

As against 39,291 votes polled by Kumar and 24,524 by Naidu, another woman candidate, Shobha secured only 20,909 votes.

Accepting the defeat graciously, Shobha told reporters here that as her six-month old party was new and did not have enough cadres to campaign, she could not mobilise the support of the electorate.