Congress won all three constituencies—Channapatna, Sandur (ST), and Shiggaon—defeating the BJP-JD(S) combine. Congress reclaimed Shiggaon after 30 years.
Published Nov 23, 2024 | 6:13 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 23, 2024 | 6:13 PM
Congress sweeps Karnataka by-polls, reclaims Shiggaon after three decades and retains Channapatna and Sandur (ST)
In the results declared on 23 November for bypolls in Karnataka, Congress swept all three assembly constituencies—Channapatna, Sandur (ST), and Shiggaon—while the NDA alliance of BJP and JD(S) suffered a significant setback.
The victory was sweeter for Congress considering the series of controversies the government and party leaders have faced in the run up to the bypolls. Two out of the three seats that Congress won are home turfs of former chief ministers — HD Kumaraswamy and Basavaraj Bommai.
“Consolidation of Minority and Other Backward Classes (OBC) votes, along with the impact of the five guarantee schemes, played a pivotal role in the Congress Karnataka unit’s victory in all three assembly by-polls,” noted political commentators analysing the results.
In Shiggaon, Congress achieved a landmark victory, reclaiming the constituency after a gap of three decades. Similarly, in Channapatna, Congress candidate CP Yogeeshwara emerged victorious, regaining the seat after consecutive losses in 2018 and 2023. In Sandur (ST), a Congress stronghold, the party continued its dominance by winning the seat for the fifth consecutive time.
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar credited the party’s success in all three constituencies to the effective implementation of its five guarantee schemes and focus on developmental initiatives.
Meanwhile, BJP’s Karnataka unit chief BY Vijayendra described the results as a shocking defeat and announced plans to consult with party leaders, including JD(S) representatives, to assess the reasons behind their debacle in the by-polls.
The bypoll results declared on 23 November saw Congress reclaim Shiggaon after three decades, regain the Channapatna seat after 16 years, and retain its stronghold in Sandur (ST). With this, Congress has gained two more seats in the state assembly at the expense of BJP and JDS each.
The polling for all the three seats was held on 13 November. Channapatna had witnessed a record 88.81 per cent voter turnout, whereas Shiggaon had recorded 80.72 per cent and Sandur (ST) witnessed 76.24 percent voter turnout.
Congress’ candidate CP Yogeeshwara defeated JD(S) youth wing president Nikhil Kumaraswamy, who is a son of JD(S) state president and Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries HD Kumaraswamy, by a margin of 25,411 votes from the Channapatna assembly seat.
This is Nikhil Kumaraswamy’s third consecutive election loss. He previously lost in one assembly and one parliament election. He contested unsuccessfully from Ramanagara in the 2023 assembly polls and Mandya in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
In another shocking setback to BJP, Congress candidate defeated Bharath Bommai — the son of former CM and Haveri MP Basavaraj Bommai — by a margin of 13,448 votes from the Shiggaon assembly segment.
With this victory, Congress has won Shiggaon for the first time in three decades. Former CM Basavaraj Bommai had won four consecutive terms from the same seat since 2008.
Meanwhile, Congress continues to dominate in the Sandur (ST) constituency as it won for the fifth consecutive election. Congress’ candidate Annapoorna Tuakram defeated BJP’s Bangara Hanumantha by a margin of 9,649 votes.
The Karnataka assembly bypoll counting saw Congress take an early lead in all three constituencies—Channapatna, Sandur (ST), and Shiggaon — and sustain it to secure sweeping victories over the BJP-JD(S) alliance.
The counting for the Channapatna assembly bypolls unfolded with high drama and intense intrigue, especially in the early rounds.
Congress candidate CP Yogeeshwara began with a slight edge in the first round with gaining lead by just 49 votes, but JD(S) candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy quickly overturned the lead, gaining ground and maintaining a steady advantage through the next few rounds.
#Karnataka: Congress nominee CP Yogeeshwara emerges victorious in Channapatna, defeating NDA’s Nikhil Kumaraswamy by a massive margin of 25,413 votes.
Catch all the updates on @TheSouthfirst live page: https://t.co/moe8Hr6DYL#Channapatna #KarnatakaBypolls #CPElectionWin… pic.twitter.com/woQqTvSYwI
— South First (@TheSouthfirst) November 23, 2024
By the fifth round, Nikhil’s lead had grown to over 1,300 votes, creating an atmosphere of optimism for JD(S) supporters. However, the mood shifted dramatically in the eighth round, as Yogeeshwara staged a remarkable comeback, reclaiming the lead with a commanding margin of over 11,000 votes.
From that point onward, the tide turned decisively in Congress’s favour. Yogeeshwara continued to expand his lead through subsequent rounds, eventually winning by an emphatic margin of 25,413 votes.
The contest, which began as a nail-biting race, concluded with a resounding victory for Congress, marking a significant setback for JD(S).
In this bypolls, Yogeeshwara had grossed 54.33 per cent votes, whereas Nikhil got 42.07 percent.
The counting for the Sandur (ST) assembly bypoll turned into a fascinating back-and-forth battle between Congress and BJP, with both parties exchanging leads in the early rounds.
In the first round, Congress candidate Annapoorna Tukaram led by 2,586 votes, but BJP’s Bangara Hanumantha quickly closed the gap. By the fifth round, Congress’ lead had narrowed to just 205 votes, and in the sixth round, BJP surged ahead, taking a 411-vote lead.
The contest became even more intense as the seventh round saw BJP extend its lead to 867 votes. However, the momentum shifted once again in the eighth round, when Annapoorna Tukaram edged ahead by just 33 votes.
#Karnataka: Congress nominee Annapoorna Tukaram has won the Sandur (ST) assembly seat by a margin of 9,649 votes against BJP’s Bangara Hanumantha.#SandurBypolls #Congress #KarnatakaElections #Byelections #ElectionUpdates
Catch all updates on @TheSouthfirst live page:… pic.twitter.com/9RcNQcQpJa
— South First (@TheSouthfirst) November 23, 2024
From there, Congress steadily regained ground, extending its lead to 867 votes by the ninth round. As the counting progressed, Annapoorna’s lead grew consistently, and by the 14th round, Congress had extended its advantage to nearly 7,000 votes.
By the 18th round, Annapoorna’s lead had expanded to 9,568 votes, putting her on the verge of victory. At the end of the 19th and final round, Congress emerged victorious with a margin of 9,645 votes, as Annapoorna Tukaram clinched the Sandur (ST) seat, defeating BJP’s Bangara Hanumanthu in a closely contested race.
Congress candidate Annapoorna managed to gross 51.95 percent votes, whereas her opponent BJP’s Bangara Hanumantha settled to 46.6 percent votes.
The Shiggaon assembly bypoll counting proved to be an exhilarating contest between BJP’s Bharat Bommai and Congress’s Yasir Ahmed Khan, with dramatic shifts in momentum as each round of counting progressed.
BJP’s Bharat Bommai started strong, leading by 325 votes at the end of the first round. His lead grew to 1,139 votes after the second round, and although Congress candidate Yasir Ahmed Khan closed the gap slightly, Bommai’s lead stood at 1,567 votes by the fourth round. As the race tightened, Bommai maintained his lead, but by the sixth round, the battle was still far from decided.
The turning point came in the ninth round, when Khan surged ahead, taking a lead of 355 votes. From there, the momentum swung in favour of Congress, with Khan extending his lead dramatically to 12,793 votes by the 11th round. The gap widened further, with Khan continuing to hold a commanding lead through the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th rounds.
#Karnataka: #Congress nominee Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan emerged victorious by a margin of 13,448 votes against BJP’s Bharat Bommai in the Shiggaon assembly seat.#ShiggaonBypoll #ElectionResults
Catch all updates on @TheSouthfirst live page: https://t.co/moe8Hr6DYL pic.twitter.com/DzjIRz3wN0
— South First (@TheSouthfirst) November 23, 2024
By the time the 17th and final round of counting concluded, Yasir Ahmed Khan had clinched victory with a margin of 13,448 votes, defeating BJP’s Bharat Bommai in a thrilling race that kept supporters on edge throughout.
Yasir secured 1,00,756 votes, representing 52.41 percent of the total vote share, while Bommai received 87,308 votes, accounting for 45.41 percent.
KPCC chief and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar attributed his government’s five guarantee schemes and development works, resulted in defeating the opposition parties in the assembly bypolls.
DK Shivakumar told reporters in Bengaluru: “The results for all three seats have been declared. Regarding the Channapatna assembly seat, I’m not ready to call Nikhil Kumaraswamy’s performance a defeat.”
#Karnataka: Five guarantee schemes and development works of our government resulted in swiping all three assembly seats: @INCKarnataka chief and Deputy CM @DKShivakumar.
Deputy CM DK Shivakumar addressed reporters in #Bengaluru: “The results for all three seats have been… pic.twitter.com/WEyN4tiUHN
— South First (@TheSouthfirst) November 23, 2024
“His father, Kumaraswamy, has represented this constituency as both MP and Chief Minister, being elected twice from here. The people’s mandate reflects their sentiment against him leaving Channapatna,” added Shivakumar.
He further said: “I wouldn’t classify it as a defeat for Basavaraj Bommai’s son Bharath Bommai either. Bommai, as a former chief minister, is remembered for his affection and emotional connection with the people. In the 2023 assembly polls, our party candidate lost by a margin of 30,000 votes.”
“In Channapatna, our candidate managed to secure 16,000 votes lead. Sandur (ST), on the other hand, has remained a Congress stronghold from the very beginning, and we have successfully retained it. Our guarantee schemes and development works were key factors in these elections, despite the opposition raising various issues,” the deputy chief minister claimed guarantee schemes and development works ensured the victory of their party.
On the bypolls results, he pointed out: “I have often said that criticisms fade away, but work endures. This has been proven now. These results send a message to the opposition to abandon negative propaganda and baseless criticisms.”
Stating that it was not the results the party expected, BJP’s Karnataka unit president and MLA BY Vijayendra asserted: “People have favoured the ruling party in the assembly bypolls. The alliance partners will assess the results.”
On the NDA’s debacle in the assembly bypolls, Vijayendra told reporters: “In Karnataka, the party has faced set back in all the three seats Channapatna, Shiggaon and Sandur (ST). We were confident that our alliance partner JD(S) would win in Channapatna, Likewise, BJP in Sandur (ST) and Shiggaon.”
#Karnataka: We anticipated victory in all three seats, but people favoured the ruling party in the assembly by-polls: @BJP4Karnataka state president and MLA @BYVijayendra.
On the BJP’s loss in the assembly by-polls, BJP’s Karnataka unit chief BY Vijayendra told reporters: “In… pic.twitter.com/WceP6Vcegq
— South First (@TheSouthfirst) November 23, 2024
“We are disappointed with the results. The leaders of both the parties will discuss and assess on facing set-back in the by-poll results. We will try to correct our mistakes in the coming days,” stated Vijayendra.
On the reasons for the victory of Congress in the by-polls, Vijayendra said: “I have got only results and not yet received any other information. It is for the first time in the Sandur (ST) seat, the party has grossed nearly 80,000 votes. But we were confident of winning by a margin of 8,000 to 9,000 votes.”
“Despite putting lot of efforts, we could not win. I will not consider the Sandur assembly constituency results as setback. The results in Shiggaon seat has shocked us. Former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s son Bharat Bommai contested from there. Bommai had lot of development works. However, the people have favoured the ruling party,” Vijayendra added that the party leaders will assess the loss in assembly by-polls.
Azim Premji University Professor and Political Analyst Narayana A termed the assembly bypolls results as “surprise” as Congress defeated BJP-JD(S) in all the three assembly segments.
On the bypolls results, Political Analyst Narayana A told South First: “In Karnataka, going by the results of 2024 Lok Sabha polls, this result is a surprise. It is not surprise, if we consider the pattern of voting in the 2023 assembly bypolls. People of Karnataka have different yardsticks while voting in assembly and parliament elections.”
“Pattern of voting will be different in different elections. After the BJP-JD(S) alliance, this is the first assembly elections held. This is a first test of their alliance, which has fallen flat. BJP’s negative campaign appears little stark because Congress’ Karnataka now are matched to that kind of publicity,” the political commentator added that the guarantee schemes still matter to the people.
He continued: “In all the three segments, BJP tried communal card strongly but for some reasons that not worked. I would say this entirely because of the caste consolidation.”
“In Shiggaon, Muslims and Kurubas united, which heled the ruling party. In Sandur, which is reserved constituency, E Tukaram, who is now Ballari MP, enjoys the popularity,” added the political commentator.
He further said: “In Channapatna, the alignment of Muslims and OBCs helped to an extent to defeat the opposition and communal card of the BJP. It does not mean that BJP communal factor has not worked but in order to defeat that the only thing that will work in Karnataka is consolidation of Muslims, OBC and SC/ST votes.”
“The leadership factor also played a key role. These two things have helped to defeat the communal agenda,” the political commentator opined that the opposition’s communal card did not help them to get the expected results.
(Edited by Ananya Rao)
