New Delhi: The Congress’ two leading faces and chief ministerial contenders in Karnataka — state unit president D.K. Shivakumar and former chief minister Siddaramaiah — scored thumping wins in their constituencies Saturday.
Data from the Election Commission website show Shivakumar cornered 1,43,023 votes to win for the eighth time. His closest rival was JD(S) candidate B. Nagaraju who tallied 20,631 votes, a victory margin of 1,22,392 votes. BJP’s R. Ashok, a former deputy chief minister, came third with 19,753 votes.
After his resounding win, Shivakumar took to Twitter to thank the people of his constituency.
ಕನಕಪುರ ಮತದಾರರ ಪ್ರೀತಿ, ಬೆಂಬಲಕ್ಕೆ ನಾನು ಆಭಾರಿಯಾಗಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ನಿಮ್ಮ ಸೇವೆಯೇ ನನಗೊಲಿದ ಸೌಭಾಗ್ಯ. #KarnatakaElectionResults2023 pic.twitter.com/EvlhdpQEz9
— DK Shivakumar (@DKShivakumar) May 13, 2023
In 2018, Shivakumar had defeated his then closest rival, JD(S)’s Narayana Gowda by approximately 80,000 votes from the same seat.
Siddaramaiah, who received 1,19,816 votes, defeated his nearest rival, BJP’s V. Somanna, by 46,163 votes in Varuna. Somanna, a Lingayat leader, managed 73,653 votes. JD(S)’s Bharathi Shankar was third with 1,037 votes.
Located in the Mysore region, Varuna is considered a Lingayat stronghold. The seat was with Siddaramaiah’s son Yathindra.
Siddaramaiah has declared this to be his last election. The former chief minister put up a series of tweets, thanking the people as well as the Congress leadership for the emphatic win in the state.
ಈ ಫಲಿತಾಂಶ ಬಿಜೆಪಿಯ ಭ್ರಷ್ಟಾಚಾರ, ದುರಾಡಳಿತ ಮತ್ತು ಕೋಮುವಾದದ ವಿರುದ್ಧದ ಫಲಿತಾಂಶ.
ಇದು ಕೇವಲ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಪಕ್ಷದ ಗೆಲುವಲ್ಲ, ಇದು ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಗೆಲುವು. ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರ ಗೆಲುವು, ಪ್ರಜಾಪ್ರಭುತ್ವದ ಗೆಲುವು.
ಈ ಗೆಲುವಿಗಾಗಿ ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಸಮಸ್ತ ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರೂ ಅಭಿನಂದಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ. 1/15#ಈಬಾರಿ_ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್_ಸರ್ಕಾರ
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) May 13, 2023
Riding on popularity
Shivakumar, a Vokkaliga leader and seven-term MLA, is seen as an organisation man who has kept the Congress well-oiled and constantly pushed the ruling BJP on the backfoot by highlighting corruption charges and raising issues of alleged misgovernance during the campaign in Karnataka.
Through his tenure, Shivakumar has also maintained a balanced relationship with the Congress high command in Delhi, resulting in a largely free hand in conducting the business of the state unit.
Siddaramaiah, a Kuruba leader, meanwhile, has been the face of the Congress and is seen as the most popular leader of the party.
Though Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah are arch-rivals over the issue of chief ministership, they have put up a united face in the run-up to the election this year.
Despite his credentials, the contest was tough for Siddaramaiah as the BJP fielded Somanna, a Lingayat heavyweight, in a seat that has approximately 40 per cent Lingayat voters. However, as an OBC leader, Siddaramaiah has a sizeable following among backward classes and the Scheduled Castes, who also have a sizeable presence in the constituency.
Varuna has been with the Siddaramaiah family since it was formed in 2008. While Siddaramaiah has won this seat twice, his son Yathindra won there in 2018.
Last election, Siddaramaiah contested from two seats — Chamundeshwari and Badami. While he lost at Chamundeshwari, he won from Badami.
In 2019, after the JD(S)-Congress government lost power, Siddaramaiah was made the leader of the Congress’ legislative party in the Karnataka assembly.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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