BJP bags the first seat in Assembly byelections in Karnataka

: BJP candidate from Yellapur Arabail Shivaram Hebbar became the first candidate to register a victory in the bypolls to 15 assembly constituencies in Karnataka, for which the counting is underway on Monday.

Hebbar defeated Congress' Bhimanna Naik by a margin of over 31,000 votes, poll officials said, adding that official announcement was awaited.

A two-time Congress MLA from Yellapur, Hebbar was among 13 disqualified MLA whom the BJP had given ticket to contest the bypoll as party candidate.