The Congress-JDS alliance has won four out of five seats that went to bypolls. The alliance won in Ballari and Mandya parliamentary seats. It also won Jamkhandi and Ramanagara assembly seats. The BJP won the Shivamogga Lok Sabha constituency. Congress leader P Chidambaram has reacted to the alliance's performance, saying the coalition has delivered.
Out of the three parliamentary constituencies, the BJP held two, while the JDS one. The BJP holds Shivamogga, which is a stronghold of its state chief BS Yeddyurappa.
It is a matter of prestige for both the BJP and the ruling Congress-JDS alliance after the assembly election in the state. It was a loss of face for the BJP as the Congress and JDS entered a late alliance to deprive it from forming the government despite being the single largest party. The good performance in bypolls is a boost for the ruling Congress-JDS alliance in the state, which was facing questions of longevity.
In 2014, the BJP had won 17 of Karnataka's 28 parliamentary seats. The Congress won 9 and HD Kumaraswamy's Janata Dal Secular 2 seats. The BJP won 104 of the 224 seats in the assembly election in May.
Here are the highlights on Karnataka By-election 2018 Results:
Encouraged by the Karnataka by-poll results, the Communist Party of India (CPI) Tuesday said a united opposition could easily defeat the BJP, according to news agency Press Trust of India.
The JD(S)-Congress coalition won two of the three Lok Sabha seats and both the Assembly segments Tuesday in the fiercely-fought bypolls, giving a shot in the arm to the ruling combine in Karnataka that faces frequent questions on its longevity.
Welcoming the verdict of the Karnataka by-polls, the Left party said the people of the southern state had made it clear that a united opposition could easily defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
"The Deepawali gift of the Karnataka people makes it clear that a united opposition can easily defeat the BJP," the CPI said in a statement, quoted by PTI.
It added that the huge margins of defeat of the BJP candidates showed the anti-BJP mood of the people, according to PTI.
The CPI has consistently been stressing on state-specific alliances of non-BJP political parties in order to take on the ruling party in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, according to a PTI report.
The Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) won two seats each in their 4:1 victory over the BJP in the by-elections to three Lok Sabha and two assembly constituencies in Karnataka. State chief minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy attributed the alliance's victory to "arithmetic".
Deepavali bonus for Congress-HD Kumaraswamy, 4:1 win in #KarnatakaBypolls
- NDTV (@ndtv) November 6, 2018
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4-1 result (unsure about Shimoga LS) in Karnataka looks like a Test series win under Virat Kohli. Coalition has delivered.
- P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) November 6, 2018
#KarnatakaBypolls | JDS' LR Shivaramegowda leads over BJP's DR Siddaramaiah in early trends in Mandya Lok Sabha constituency
- NDTV (@ndtv) November 6, 2018
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Bypolls to Jamkhandi assembly seat was necessitated due to the death of Congress MLA Siddu Nyamagouda. In Ramanagara, Chief Minister Kumaraswamy gave up the seat.
#KarnatakaByPolls | Counting of votes underway in 3 Lok Sabha constituencies and 2 assembly constituencies
- NDTV (@ndtv) November 6, 2018
ANI image from Mandya Lok Sabha constituency
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