Karnataka Assembly Election Result 2023: Siddaramaiah Top Contender for CM Post, Say Sources; Bommai Tenders Resignation

BJP leader Amit Malviya said the Congress has lost the Jayanagar constituency in Bengaluru and alleged D K Shivkumar and Congress “goons” are holding up EC officials and not letting them issue certificate.

“Just because senior Congress leader Ramalinga Reddy’s daughter is in fray. What kind of hooliganism is this?” he asked in a tweet.

Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar alleged that the election commission officials of trying to distort the result in Bengaluru’s Jayanagar assembly constituency where Sowmya Reddy, the Congress candidate was leading.

Congress leader Kothur G Manjunath defeated his nearest rival JD(S)’s C M R Srinath in Karnataka’s Kolar seat by a margin of 30,761 votes.

Congress’ big win in the Karnataka assembly polls has come as a boost for Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge as it is also the first time in nearly four decades that the party has won in the home state of its president.

The Congress would also take inspiration from history as it was from Karnataka that an embattled Indira Gandhi had revived her dwindling political future by winning a Lok Sabha bypoll from Chikmagalur.

The Congress is facing a stiff electoral challenge from a rampaging BJP and the Karnataka poll win has come at a critical juncture for the grand old party with the Lok Sabha polls next year, but whether this victory would prove to be its “Chikmagalur moment”, only time will tell.

Congress’ Deputy Leader in Karnataka Assembly U T Khader Fareed on Saturday retained the Mangalore seat defeating BJP candidate Sathish Kumpala by 22,790 votes.

Fareed got 83,219 votes, against 60,429 votes polled by Kumpala. Social Democratic Party of India candidate Riyaz Farangipete, who polled 15,054 votes, was in third place, according to the Election Commission website.

Fareed, the only Congress MLA in the BJP stronghold of the Dakshina Kannada district, comes from a renowned Muslim family. He entered the Karnataka assembly for the first time following the 2007 by-election held following the death of his father.

Senior Congress leader and former Karnataka minister G Parameshwara recorded his sixth victory in the Assembly polls in the southern state.

The former state Congress chief, who has said he is in the chief ministerial race, won the poll contest from the Koratagere constituency by a comfortable margin of 14,347 votes.

Parameshwara bagged 79,099 votes as against the 64,752 votes secured by his nearest rival, P R Sudhakar Lal of the Janata Dal (Secular). Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) B H Anil Kumar was in the third place with 24,091 votes, according to the Election Commission’s (EC) website.

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar congratulated the Congress, his alliance partner, for its scintillating performance in the Karnataka assembly polls.

The JD(U) supreme leader came out with a tweet, in Hindi, tagging the grand old party which has won a comfortable majority in the southern state.

“Heartiest congratulations and good wishes to the Congress upon its victory, with a clear majority, in Karnataka assembly elections,” Kumar tweeted.

The Congress’ victory in the Karnataka assembly polls is likely to help the party get its candidates elected in three of the four Rajya Sabha seats from the state falling vacant next year.

The tenure of four Rajya Sabha members from the state — Syed Nasir Hussain, G C Chandrashekhar and L Hanumanthaiah of the Congress and Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar of the BJP — ends in 2024.

The BJP, which won 65 of the 224 assembly seats in the state on Saturday, will be able to get its one nominee elected to the Rajya Sabha next year.

Karnataka CM and BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai tendered his resignation to Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot following BJP’s defeat in the Karnataka assembly elections.

Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said Kannadigas have outright rejected the politics of polarisation.

Siddaramaiah said PM Narendra Modi has burdened Indians with huge debt. “The BJP lied about everything and ruined our state due to corruption, unemployment and price rise. I always said that no matter how many times Modi visits Karnataka, people will not believe him,” he said.

Karnataka CM and BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai reached Raj Bhawan to tender his resignation to the Governor.

Union Minister Anurag Thakur said that the BJP government did a lot of work in Karnataka. “Karnataka received the largest foreign direct investment. Development skyrocketed in Karnataka under our governance. But in a democracy, whatever decision the people of Karnataka have given we accept that. We will identify our mistakes and work on them,” he said.

Karnataka is a state known for giving hung assemblies and fractured mandate. However, post 1994, only the Congress has managed to get a clear majority in the Assembly election in the state, that, too, thrice – 2023, 2013 and 1999. In 1994, the JDS had got a clear majority.

Congress – 136 seats BJP – 65 seats Janata Dal (Secular)- 19 Kalyana Rajya Pragathi Paksha – 1 Sarvodaya Karnataka Paksha – 1 Independent – 2

Hitting out at the Bharatiya Janata Party after the thumping victory of the Congress in the Karnataka Assembly elections, AICC president M Mallikarjun Kharge said those who wanted ‘Congress Mukt Bharat’ ended up facing ‘BJP Mukt Dakshin Bharat’.

Kharge took a swipe at the BJP, saying egoistic statements will not work anymore and one should understand the sufferings of people.

BJP national general secretary and four-time Karnataka legislator C T Ravi lost the Chikmagalur seat to former party colleague H D Thammaiah, who crossed over to the Congress in February, by a margin of 5,926 votes.

Before joining the Congress, Thammaiah was Chikmagalur constituency’s district convenor of the BJP and a close aide of Ravi.

Ravi, who belongs to the Vokkaliga community, got 79,128 votes, while Thammaiah bagged 85,054 votes. JD(S) candidate B M Thimma Shetty was in the third place with 1,763 votes.

The Bajrang Dal is not afraid of ban threat in view of Congress’s victory in the Karnataka elections, a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) functionary said.

“If they ban Bajrang Dal out of the hatred for Hindus, necessary steps will be taken,” VHP general secretary Milind Parande said. In Karnataka, Congress promised to ban Bajrang Dal if it comes to power.

JD(S) leader and former Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy’s son Nilkil on Saturday faced defeat in the party bastion of Ramanagaram, losing the seat to the Congress by 10,715 votes.

Nearly three decades after Ramanagaram propelled H D Deve Gowda to the post of chief minister, his grandson Nikhil Kumaraswamy tested the waters here following his disastrous electoral debut in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy said he accepts defeat and victory with equanimity and the loss in the Karnataka Assembly polls was not final for him and his party.

The former chief minister, whose party has won 19 seats in the Assembly polls, wished good luck to the new government that will be coming into existence and expressed hope that they respond to the requirements of the people.