Karnataka assembly poll results: Statue stories fail to sell in Bengaluru's hinterland

From witnessing massive voter turnout to springing surprise results, assembly constituencies in the backyard of Bengaluru have thrown up results that are in stark contrast to the city segments. While voters in Bengaluru city preferred to be status quoists, Congress and JD(S) have swept the constituencies encircling the state capital.
Given the zooming land values, support in Bengaluru's backyard is crucial to any party aspiring to assume power in the state. With Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and multinational companies (MNCs) dotting the countryside, BJP had set its eyes on the region and did all it could to expand its footprint. The party sought to highlight installation of the 108ft statue of Kempegowda on the premises of Kempegowda International Airport to garner support from the dominant Vokkaliga population. But its efforts failed miserably as it could win only in Doddaballapur and lost every other seat in Bengaluru Rural. It drew a blank in Chikkaballapur and Kolar districts that border the state capital on the northern and eastern sides.

BJP put up a valiant fight in Hoskote where MTB Nagaraj, richest candidate in the fray, lost to young incumbent Sharath Kumar Bachhegowda in a photo finish.
Congress wrested Devanahalli from JD(S) as Dalit leader KH Muniyappa, ex-Union minister and seven-time parliamentarian from Kolar, won. Muniyappa's victory is expected to bring him back into active politics from oblivion, especially after his defeat in the last parliamentary polls.
There were murmurs among local Congress functionaries against Muniyappa's candidature but the veteran proved his worth as he was determined that the party field him from Devanahalli. Incidentally, his daughter Roopkala Shashidhar has won from KGF reserved constituency.
Congress, in fact, upset several other calculations of the saffron party in the region. Paradropping Kothur Manjunath in Kolar at the last minute against BJP's Varthur Prakash, Congress faced stiff opposition from its cadre. Yet, Manjunath succeeded in tiding over the crisis and won, albeit with a narrow margin. Malur, which saw Karnataka's fourth-highest voter turnout (89.1%), saw Congress's KY Nanjegwoda pulling off a thrilling victory over BJP's Manjunath Gowda. However, amid these victories, Congress suffered at the hands of JD(S) in Srinivasapura where former speaker and minister Ramesh Kumar lost to JD(S)' GK Venkatashiva Reddy.
In Doddaballapur, the only place which provided BJP some succour, Dhiraj Muniraju won against Congress' T Venkataramanaiah. Poll analysts said the BJP government's increased interference in the real estate sector in the region with unregulated acquisition of land for various projects and crumbling infrastructure turned the tide towards Congress.