Bengaluru: G.T.Deve Gowda of the Janata Dal (Secular) is leading by 22,266 votes against Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah in Chamundeshwari constituency.
At 11.35 am, G.T.Deve Gowda was leading with 57,322 votes, while Siddaramaiah trailed with 35,056 votes.
Siddaramaiah, who has until now fought seven elections and won five from Chamundeshwari, is staring at an embarrassing defeat at the hands of G.T.Deve Gowda, who did not enjoy a very high profile even within his own party.
The JD(S) had relied on the Vokkaliga vote, one of the most dominant communities in Chamundeshwari to back the party, led by H.D.Deve Gowda, who also belongs to this caste.
The Congress had alleged that the JD(S) and the BJP had joined forces in this constituency to defeat Siddaramaiah.
Siddaramaiah won two consecutive terms—2008 and 2013—from Varuna, from where his son, Dr Yathindra Siddaramaiah is contesting on a Congress ticket. Yathindra was leading in Varuna constituency with 35,311 votes as against the JD(S) candidate who has so far got 13,699 votes.
The Congress high command had fielded Siddaramaiah from two constituencies, the other being Badami in Bagalkot district. Siddaramaiah leads in Badami with 44,209 votes with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate B.Sriramulu trailing with 42,588 votes, a difference of 1,621 votes.
Though Congress president Rahul Gandhi had campaigned extensively in Karnataka, the 2018 elections was largely spearheaded by Siddaramaiah, who enjoyed unrivalled popularity.
The high pitched elections had seen a fierce campaign by all three parties with many national leaders camping in the state to marshall their workers.