Congress heading to improve tally, BJP yield ground in Karnataka

Bengaluru: The ruling Congress in Karnataka appeared headed on Tuesday to improve its tally and BJP yield ground as per initial counting trends in 28 Lok Sabha constituencies in the State.

The BJP was ahead in 16 seats, Congress in ten and JD(S) in 2 as per the latest counting figures, according to Election Commission officials.

The Congress won a mere one seat out of the total 28 in the State in the 2019 general elections.

BJP had swept the previous Lok Sabha elections bagging 25 seats, while an independent backed by it also won.

JD(S), headed by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, had emerged victorious in one constituency. The Congress and the JD(S) were running a coalition government back then and had fought the election together.

The regional outfit joined the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in September last year and fought the Lok Sabha elections in alliance with the BJP, and is contesting in three seats — Mandya, Hassan and Kolar, and they are leading in all of them.

Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, who is facing allegations of sexually abusing several women and also recording them, was leading. He has already been suspended by the JD(S).

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani was now leading in Gulbarga after trailing earlier.

Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar’s brother and MP D K Suresh was also trailing against eminent cardiologist and former PM H D Deve Gowda’s son-in-law Dr C N Manjunath of BJP from Bangalore Rural, according to the counting trends so far.

Three former Chief Ministers — H D Kumaraswamy of JD(S), Basavaraj Bommai and Jagadish Shettar (both BJP) — are leading in their Lok Sabha segments of Mandya, Haveri and Belgaum respectively.

Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi and Shobha Karandlaje (BJP) were ahead in Dharwad and Bangalore North Lok Sabha segments, respectively, according to official sources, while another Union Minister Bhagwanth Khuba was trailing in Bidar.

Also leading were erstwhile Mysuru royal family scion Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar of BJP in Mysore, party veteran B S Yediyurappa’s son B Y Raghavendra in Shimoga, and saffron party’s youth wing chief Tejasvi Surya (Bangalore South).

Among those trailing are expelled BJP leader K S Eshwarappa and film star Shivrajkumar’s wife Geetha Shivrajkumar of Congress in Shimoga.

Former Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri and Leader of Opposition in Legislative Council Kota Srinivas Poojary (BJP) have taken leads in Uttara Kannada and Udupi-Chikmagalur segments, respectively.

Karnataka is the most important state for the BJP in south India as it’s only here that it had held power in the past.