Mysuru: Sitting BJP MP Pratap Simha, won from Mysuru Kodagu constituency for the second time with a margin of 1,38, 648 votes, defeating Mr C H Vijayshankar of the Congress on Thursday. This is the BJP's fourth victory from the constituency.
Mr Simha , who led all through, won 6,88, 974 votes as against Mr Vijayshankar's, 5,50,327 votes. Thanking party workers for his win, he said, "This victory is not mine but Mr Narendra Modi's. I do not want the post of minister. I will remain an MP in Mr Modi's administration and continue to serve the people."
Mr Vijayshankar called the results "unexpected and shocking." “But the people's mandate is final in a democracy. I accept it with a bowed head," he added. Calling for some soul- searching in the Congress and JD(S), he noted that despite the campaigning by both former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and JD(S) minister G.T. Devegowda, who both had considerable influence in the constituency, the BJP had won.
“We must look into whether the coalition dharma was followed or not. We need to introspect and set things right,” he added.
The defeat is a slap in the face of the Congress, which has a strong base in the Mysuru Lok Sabha constituency, winning 10 of the 14 elections held so far.
It was Mr Vijayshankar, who established the base for the BJP in the constituency , winning from it as the saffron party's candidate in the 1998 and 2004 Lok Sabha elections, before he joined the Congress. Mr Simha has now won twice from it, once in 2014 and now.
