Karnataka by-polls: The reasons why BJP lost in CM Basavaraj Bommai’s home turf Hanagal

Bengaluru, Nov 2: Karnataka BJP has landed in an embarrassing situation after losing the Hanagal assembly seat, which falls in Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai's home district Haveri, in the by-polls held on 30 October.

This is the first election faced by Bommai after becoming the Chief Minister of Karnataka. Congress candidate Srinivas Mane defeated the BJP's Shivaraj Sajjanar by a margin of 7,373 votes as he secured 87,490 votes. The BJP candidate garnered 80,117 votes.

So, what went wrong for the saffron party in the by-election?

• Picking Shivaraj Sajjanar, who hails from a different taluk, in the last minute despite opposition from local leaders.

• CM Udasi's followers were upset for not giving a ticket to his family members.

• MP Shivakumar Udasi's followers did not show enthusiasm in the by-poll campaign.

• People were upset with CM Udasi for not extending help to the needy during the Covid-19 crisis.

• BJP's attack on Siddaramaiah did no go well with the backward community and Lingayat votes failed to consolidate.

• JD(S) failed to divide votes.

• Srinivasa Mane's good work during the Covid-19 crisis. Also, he had lost the last election by a narrow margin. So, the sympathy factor worked for him.

• The aggressive campaign carried out by the Congress leaders.

• Congress successfully managed to consolidate minority votes.