K'taka polls: Setback for Congress as 16 of its ministers suffer defeat

Siddaramaiah lost from the Chamundeshwari constituency, a seat from where he had won five elections in the past.
K'taka polls: Setback for Congress as 16 of its ministers suffer defeat
K'taka polls: Setback for Congress as 16 of its ministers suffer defeat
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In a disheartening turn of events for the Congress in Karnataka, 16 of the party’s ministers suffered losses in the Assembly Election.

Transport Minister HM Revanna, who contested against JD(S) President HD Kumaraswamy, suffered a loss in Channapattana.

Another crushing defeat for the party was that of Siddaramaiah in Chamundeshwari constituency, which was once his stronghold. Siddaramaiah has won five elections from this seat in the past. Siddaramaiah, however, won from the Badami segment. 

Revenue Minister Kagodu Thimmappa lost to BJP’s Hartal Halappa in Sagar. Halappa got 78,475 votes while Thimmappa secured 70,436 votes. In the 2013 polls, Hartal Halappa had contested from a KJP ticket. The split in BJP’s vote bank due to the KJP had paved way for Thimmappa’s victory.

Geeta Mahadevprasad, who had swept the 2017 bye-poll in Gundlupet lost to BJP’s Niranjan Kumar this time around by a large margin. Niranjan Kumar has won the seat for the first time after suffering losses in the past two elections in 2013 and 2008.

The Social Welfare Minister and Siddaramaiah’s close associate H Anjaneya suffered a crushing defeat in Chitradurga’s Holalkere. Anjaneya was up against BJP’s M Chandrappa. Anjaneya lagged behind as he was unable to secure 38,940 votes needed to win.

Minister for Horticulture and Agriculture Marketing SS Mallikarjun lost his seat in Davangere South to BJP’s SA Ravindranath by a margin of 4,071 votes. Mallikarjun had won the 2013 election for the first time by banking on his father Shabbir Shivashankarappa, the local Veerashaiva leader’s goodwill. However, he lost by a narrow margin.

Sira, the constituency in Tumakuru which has been a bastion of the Congress for a long time, had seen the Law Minister TB Jayachandra win the seat multiple times in the past. However, he lost to B Sathyanaraya of the JDS by a margin of 10,365 votes.

Also, Fisheries Minister Pramod Madhwaraj lost to his one time friend turned foe Raghupati Bhat by a margin of 12,044 votes. Madhwaraj has suffered severe anti-incumbency and constituents complained of his perpetual absenteeism in the segment.

In Terdal and Kalghatgi, Congress Minister for Women and Child Welfare Umashree and the Labour Minister Santosh Lad too lost to their BJP counterparts. BJP's Siddu Savadi won by a margin of 20,889 votes in Terdal whilst CM Nimabannavar won by a margin of 25,997 votes.

MC Mohan Kumari, Minister of State (Independent Charge), lost to the BJP’s CS Niranjan Kumar in Gundlupet. The latter won by a margin of over 15,000 votes.

Basavaraj Rayareddy, the Minister for Higher Education, Shivaraj Tangadagi, Minister for Minor Irrigation, Rudrappa Lamani Minister for Textiles, Ramanath Rai, Minister for Environment and Forests, HC Mahadevappa Minister for Public works, SR Patil, Minister for Infrastructure and A Manju, Minister for Animal Husbandry, too suffered defeats.

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