Union Minister and former Karnataka Chief Minister DV Sadananda Gowda has retained his seat in Bengaluru North by defeating sitting state Minister Krishna Byre Gowda in one of Karnataka's most high-profile clashes for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Sadananda Gowda emerged victorious with a comfortable margin of 1,46,100 votes over his closest rival, Byre Gowda of the Congress-JD(S) alliance. “I bow my head to the voters of Bengaluru North constituency. I want to thank all the party workers and leaders who helped me. They fought like warriors in a battlefield and also because of Narendra Modi’s image, I was able to win for the second time,” a jubilant Sadananda Gowda said.
This is his second victory from the seat. In 2014, Sadananda Gowda had defeated his nearest rival, C Narayana Swamy of the Congress, with a comfortable margin of over two lakh votes, riding the Modi wave. Sadananda Gowda’s previous Lok Sabha victories had come from the erstwhile Mangaluru and Udupi-Chikkamagaluru seats.
In all Bengaluru city constituencies, the BJP had expected to perform well owing to the Modi factor as it remains a big draw in the state. They were also banking on unifying the Hindu vote.
With BJP state President BS Yeddyurappa announcing that all sitting MPs will contest from their existing seats well in advance, Sadananda Gowda’s candidature was a foregone conclusion. Initially, there was a possibility of former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda contesting from Bengaluru North. To that, Sadananda Gowda had said, “I respect Deve Gowda but I am not afraid of him. It will be good if I contest against an elder in politics and if I win, that will be even better."
Byre Gowda, minister for Rural Development in the state, was fielded as the trump card from the Congress-JD(S) alliance camp in the hopes of unsettling the BJP. However, he has failed to match up to the task, though he had the blessing of HD Deve Gowda himself, despite his initial reluctance. Byre Gowda’s candidature was made official on the last day of filing nominations.
With this, the five-time MLA and two-time Minister faces his second loss in Lok Sabha elections.
In 2009, Byre Gowda had contested unsuccessfully against the late BJP Union Minister Ananth Kumar from the Bengaluru South constituency. Though Byre Gowda emerged second in 2009, it was by a close margin of 40,000 votes.