Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018: Son's win, balm for Siddaramaiah's soul

Mysuru: Outgoing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's decision to contest from two constituencies has paid off as he has lost from Chamundeswari by 36,042 votes to Mr G T Deve Gowda of the JD(S), but won from Badami, his second choice.

His sacrifice of Varuna for his son has, however, fetched him huge dividends as Dr S Yathindra has won by a huge margin riding on his popularity in his hometown of Mysuru. While Mr Siddaramaiah won 85,283 votes in Chamundeswari, his rival, G T Devegowda netted 1,21,325 votes, sailing past him with ease, although this was by no means his first election from the constituency, which he has contested from seven times previously and lost only twice. It was only after the delimitation of constituencies, that he chose to contest from Varuna in 2008 and 2013, giving it up for his son in 2018.

"As Mr Siddaramaiah contested against Mr B Sriramulu of the BJP in Badami, the Nayaks did not vote for him in Chamundeswari and the Lingayats blamed him for the Veerashaiva Lingayat divide. The fact that the JDS joined hands with the BJP also helped his defeat. And with Dalit leader, V Srinivasprasad quitting the Congress, the party also fell short of Dalit votes this time," said Mr Seetharam, a senior Congress leader, adding that over confident Congress leaders did not work hard enough either for Mr Siddaramaiah's victory.

Moreover, he claimed Mr G T Devegowda had spent over a 100 crores on the elections by selling one of his properties.

"Mr Siddaramaiah should not have contested from Chamundeswari. If he had contested from Varuna and Badami, he would have won both and then he could have given up one seat for his son to contest from," said another Congress leader.

But Mr G T Devegowda insisted it was Mr Siddaramaiah's "arrogance and negligence" that led to his defeat.

For Dr Yathindra, his maiden election has seen him ride on a wave of support to enter the Vidhana Soudha with 96,435 votes to his credit. He defeated his BJP rival, Thotadappa Basavaraju, by a huge margin of 58,619 votes. A doctor by profession, he stepped into the shoes of his brother, Rakesh after his passing one- and- a- half years ago. "Yatindra is a good human being and genuinely responds to people's problems. This coupled with Mr Siddaramaiah's popularity and good work in the state led to his victory," said party leaders.