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The anti-incumbency factor and split in the BJP due to internal squabbling has hit the BJP hard in the Mumbai-Karnataka region in the polls to the legislative assembly. The Mumbai-Karnataka region consist of districts such has Dharwad, Haveri, Gadag, Belgaum, Bagalkot and Bijapur district had been the bastion of BJP as in the 2008 elections. During the last Assembly elections as many as 38 BJP MLAs had been elected from the region while only 12 Congressmen had made it to Legislative Assembly.
However, in the 2013 polls the tables have turned and this time, only 13 BJP nominees are making it to Vidhana Soudha from Mumbai-Karnataka region. The BJP should be thankful to Belgaum district which has returned eight party candidates to the Assembly. Of the prominent BJP leaders from the region, Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar could retain his seat in Hubli-Dharwad Central by winning with a margin of 17840 votes but compared to his victory margin of 26009 in 2008, the victory this time cannot be termed as thumping.
In Dharwad district which is the home of both CM Shettar and BJP state president Prahlad Joshi, the BJP suffered a setback as it could win only two of the seven seats this time. The BJP had won six seats in 2008. The Congress improved its tally from one seat to four while the JD(S) opened its account by winning the Navalgund seat.
In 2008 the BJP had won 11 seats in Belgaum district, seven in Bagalkot, six in Dharwad, five each in Haveri and Bijapur and four in Gadag. However this time, it has bagged eight seats in Belgaum, two in Dharwad and one each in Bijapur, Bagalkot and Haveri while it has been washed out in Gadag.
On the contrary, Congress has improved its tally from 12 in 2008 to 30 in 2013 in the region. Bijapur has given seven seats to Congress while Belgaum has returned six, Bagalkot five, Dharwad, Haveri and Gadag four each.
However, former CM Yeddyurappa who had launched his KJP in Haveri considering it as the party's bastion could win only one seat (U B Banakar in Hirekerur) in the entire region.
Sugar barons in the region had a mixed bag in this election as minister for Large and Medium Industries Murugesh Nirani(BJP) who runs the Nirani Sugars and Nirani Cements suffered defeat in Bilgi of Bagalkot district. So was Jagadish Gudagunti(Independent) of Pabhulingeshwar Sugars in Jamkhandi. While former union minister and owner of Jamkhandi Sugars, Siddu Nyamagouda won the seat for Congress in Jamkhandi,
Satish Jarkiholi (Satish Sugars) got elected from Yamakanmardi on Congress ticket. His brothers Balachandra (BJP-Arabhavi) and Ramesh (JD-S- Gokak) also made it to Vidhan Soudha.
Other sugar barons D B Inamdar (Congress-Kittur), Umesh Katti (BJP-Hukkeri) and Laxman Savadi (BJP-Athani) also made it to assembly. Other prominent winners from Mumbai-Karnataka are Congress candidates Prakash Hukkeri (Chikkodi-Sadalaga), M B Patil (Babaleshwar), former minister H K Patil (Gadag), B R Yavagal(Nargund) and BJP nominee Govind Karjol (Mudhol)
BJP draws blank in Mysore
In Mysore district, Congress won seven seats and Janata Dal (S) managed to win in 3 seats, while the ruling party BJP drew a blank, prominent defeat being that of District incharge Minister S A Ramadas. Siddaramaiah won by a comfortable margin of nearly 30,000 votes securing 84,385 votes against his nearest rival Kapu who polled 54,744 votes, where 27 candidates were fray in all.
The other Congress victories in the district were of former Union Minister and sitting MLA V Srinivasa Prasad in Nanjangud, H C Mahadevappa in T Narasipur, H P Manjunath in Hunsur, M K Somashekar in Krishnaraja, Vasu in Chamaraja, and Tanveer Sait in Narasimhara.
The three Janata Dal candidates who were elected are S Chikkamadu in H D Kote, Sa Ra Mahesh in K R Nagar and G T Deve Gowda in Chamundeswari.
Prasad defeated securing 50,784 votes against Kalale N Keshvamurthy (JD (S) who polled 41,843 votes. Mahadevappa bagged 53,219 votes and defeated M C Sundareshan (JD-S) who got 52,896 votes. Manjunath polled 83,930 votes against his rival Kumaraswamy (JD-S) who secured 43,723 votes.
In the three constituencies of Mysore city, where Congress made a clean sweep, Vasu won for the first time defeating three-time winner H S Shankaralinge Gowda, sitting prominent JD (S) MLA, who had deserted BJP, by bagging 41,930 votes, while Gowda polled 29,015 and BJP's Nagendra 26,168 votes.
Former Minister Sait retined his seat by polling 38,037 votes, defeating his nearest rivals K H Abdul Majid (Social Democratic Party of India), S Satish (Sandesh Swamy) (JD-S) and B P Manjunath (BJP), who got 29,667, 29,180 and 12,443 votes, respectively.
Somashekar secured 52,611 votes against District Minister Ramadas who got 46,546 votes and also defeated H V Rajeeva (KJP) who polled 15,573 votes. Deve Gowda defeated sitting Congress MLA M Sathyanarayana and M Appanna (KJP).
While Gowda got 75,864 votes his rivals secured 68,761 and 16,799 votes, respectively. Chikkamadu secured 48,606 votes against Chikkanna (Cong) and Siddaraju (BJP). The defeated candidates are Chikkanna (Congress 36,108 votes) and Siddaraju (BJP 31,248 votes).
The third JD (S) success in the district is that of Sa. Ra.Mahesh who got 81,457 votes against his rival Doddaswamegowda (Cong) who polled 66,405 votes.
The counting of all the 10 constituencies was conducted in Mysore on Wednesday.
