BENGALURU: Riding a sympathy wave, Sarala, the wife of the deceased BJP corporator, Mahesh Babu, swept the Lakkasandra ward by-election with a margin of 2,414 votes. The elections were held on Sunday and votes counted on Wednesday.
The ward has over 28,000 voters and 45.5 per cent polling (15,054 votes) was recorded. BJP candidate Sarala got 7,638 votes, while her Congress rival Adugodi Mohan got 5,224.
JD (S) candidate Pervez Ahmed fared poorly and polled only 125 votes, thereby losing his deposit. With this victory the number of BJP corporators in BBMP has gone up to 101.
The BJP victory has come as a shocker to the Congress party as the Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee working president Dinesh Gundurao and other leaders had campaigned for their party candidate. Sarala dedicated her victory to her deceased husband and also thanked all the BJP leaders and workers for their hard work.
Congres on the decline: BJP leader
BBMP leader of opposition Padmanabha Reddy has said that victory at Lakkasandra ward election will be the beginning for the exit of Congress party from Karnataka.
Addressing reporters after the announcement of results, Reddy said, “With only 70 candidates, Congress party is ruling the BBMP according to its whims and fancies. People have taught a good lesson to Congress party by registering their votes in favour of BJP.”
Congress party got the Mayor’s post using all wrong means by entering into a coalition with the JD (S), Reddy said and added that after the Congress government took over Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has not laid the foundation for a single developmental project, but is involved in getting publicity by claiming that he has released Rs 73,000 crore for the development of Bengaluru.
Stating that government is only keen to loot the money by getting the controversial steel flyover project going, Reddy said that people will teach Congress a good lesson.
