Karnataka results show the path to 2019, says Congress strategist

The bypoll results in Karnataka where the Congress-JD(S) coalition on Tuesday won two of the three Lok Sabha seats and both the assembly constituencies is a clear answer to those who expressed doubts over the longevity of the post-poll alliance that came to power in the southern state in May, Congress leader K C Venugopal said.

Speaking to Onmanorama over phone from Karnataka, a jubilant Venugopal said the victory boosted the alliance's confidence to fight the Lok Sabha polls next year.

“The alliance in Karnataka which was formed after the assembly polls was perceived as a model to take on the BJP at the national level. With the bypoll results, the coalition has passed a litmus test. It strengthens our confidence,” the Alappuzha MP and AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka said.

He said the high margins with which the Congress-JD(S) combine won the bypolls show that the people's sentiments are absolutely against the BJP. “The results reflect the decline in BJP's morality,” Venugopal said recollecting the alleged horsetrading with which the BJP tried to come to power in the state despite the Congress-JD(S) alliance having clear majority.

Venugopal said the bypoll victories were beyond the expectations of the alliance.

Karnataka's JD(S)-Congress coalition Tuesday won two of the three Lok Sabha seats and both the assembly constituencies in the fiercely fought bypolls Saturday.

Check out in-depth coverage of State Polls 2018

The BJP suffered an embarrassing reverse in Ballari, a seat it had been winning since 2004, but it managed to hold on to the Shivamogga Lok Sabha seat.

In Ballari, Congress' V S Ugrappa won the seat by more than 2.43 lakh votes over BJP's J Shantha, the sister of B Sriramulu, a key aide of the Reddys and former MP from there.

In Shivamogga, the traditional stronghold of Opposition leader and former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, his son B Y Raghavendra defeated his JDS rival Madhu Bangarappa by 52,148 votes in a closely fought contest.

Kumaraswamy's wife Anitha bagged the Ramanagara assembly seat by a big margin of 1,09,137 votes against her nearest rival BJP's L Chandrashekar, who had pulled out of the contest, but still officially remains the party candidate.

In Jamkhandi assembly segment, Congress candidate Anand Nyamgouda defeated BJP's Srikant Kulkarni by a margin of 39,480 votes, riding a sympathy wave following his father and sitting MLA Siddu Nyamagouda's death in a road accident.