Several high-profile candidates including a former Prime Minister, a former Chief Minister and a current minister in the Karnataka cabinet faced defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka.
Here are some of the big names who lost in the elections:
HD Deve Gowda
After months of speculation, former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda belatedly confirmed that he would contest the Lok Sabha elections from the Tumakuru constituency. He has been elected as MP from the Hassan constituency in the past three elections but he decided to relinquish his seat to his grandson Prajwal Revanna.
The decision did not pay off for the veteran JD(S) leader as the BJP's GS Basavaraju defeated him by 13339 votes. Deve Gowda's campaign was also troubled by rebel Congress leader Muddahanumegowda who was the incumbent MP from Tumakuru. He initially decided to contest the elections as an independent candidate but later withdrew his candidature following discussions with Siddaramaiah.
Mallikarjun Kharge
Leader of the Opposition and three-time MP from Kalaburgi constituency, Mallikarjun Kharge was expected to sweep the Lok Sabha elections once again. But the BJP's decision to rope in Congress rebel Umesh Jadhav turned out to be a key move, with the latter managing to defeat Kharge by 95,452 votes. Umesh was once mentored by Kharge in the Congress. He was elected as MLA of Chincholi constituency in the 2018 Assembly elections but he rebelled against the Congress in January this year and was subsequently disqualified as an MLA. He immediately switched to the BJP and was named the party's candidate from Kalaburgi constituency.
Krishna Byre Gowda
Cabinet Minister Krishna Byre Gowda was a last-minute candidate decided by the Congress for the Bengaluru (North) seat. KBG was drafted after JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda decided to contest from the Tumakuru seat.
KBG contested against Union Minister DVS Sadananda Gowda of the BJP. During the campaign, KBG suggested that the limited time available to him to fight the campaign was a "challenge". He also brought in innovative campaign ideas including the flash mob at a Bengaluru mall. However, it did not prove to be enough and DVS Sadananda Gowda emerged victorious by 1,47,518 votes.
Veerappa Moily
Not many remember that Veerappa Moily was the Chief Minister of Karnataka 25 years ago. The veteran Congress leader lost the election in the Chikkaballapura constituency against BJP candidate BN Bachegowda. Veerappa had previously won in 2009 and 2014 and was seeking re-election for the third time. However, he was defeated by 1,82,110 votes. In the run-up to the elections, he was criticised for the lack of measures taken to address severe water scarcity and drought-situation in the district.
KH Muniyappa
Congress leader and seven-time MP from Kolar KH Muniyappa also faced defeat in the Lok Sabha elections. Bengaluru-based S Muniswamy, who was earlier a corporator in the city, managed to put an end to Muniyappa's winning streak going all the way back to 1991. However, Muniyappa's campaign was marred by an internal rift. Congress leader and Speaker in the Karnataka Assembly KR Ramesh Kumar criticised Muniyappa in the run-up to the elections. In the elections, he was defeated by 2,10,021 votes.