Congress candidates Tanveer Sait and K. Harish Gowda win in Narasimharaja and Chamaraja seats respectively, while T.S. Srivatsa of the BJP wins in Krishnaraja
The electoral battle in Mysuru urban constituencies comprising Krishnaraja, Chamaraja and Narasimharaja was intense. The Congress and the BJP candidates were locked in a straight fight in all the three segments.
Though the BJP retained its seat in Krishnaraja, the Congress gave a tough fight to it till the end. In Chamaraja, the BJP fought to retain its seat but was unsuccessful as the Congress gained significant leads to romp home. In Narasimharaja, the Congress ensured its supremacy, retaining the seat amidst the fight from the BJP.
KRISHNARAJA
In his electoral debut, T.S. Srivatsa of the BJP won the Krishnaraja seat, which was held by S.A. Ramdas, MLA. The party denied the ticket to Mr. Ramdas and fielded Mr. Srivatsa, who is the city BJP president.
Mr. Srivatsa was one of the 70-plus new faces the BJP fielded in this election. In the Brahmin-dominated constituency, Mr Srivatsa, a Brahmin, won by a margin of 7,213 votes. He polled 73,670 votes over M.K. Somashekar of the Congress, who secured 66,457 votes. JD(S) candidate K.V. Mallesh polled just 5,027 votes.
Despite the late announcement of ticket to Mr. Srivatsa, he and his team managed to take up intensified campaigning, taking the support of Mr. Ramdas. “The party cadre worked really hard for his victory,” a party leader said.
CHAMARAJA
Mr K. Harish Gowda of the Congress has finally realszed his wish of becoming an MLA by defeating sitting BJP MLA L. Nagendra in an intense political battle in the Vokkaliga-dominated constituency. Both were leading and trailing during counting but the lead of Mr. Gowda toward the last few rounds led to his victory.
A strong supporter of Mr. Siddaramaiah, Mr. Harish Gowda was successful in getting the ticket amidst a fight from former MLA Vasu. The JD(S) was no match in the battle as it was pushed to the third place.
Mr. Harish Gowda had played a spoilsport for the JD(S) in the last election by contesting as the rebel candidate.
Mr. Harish Gowda, who polled 72,932 votes, won by a margin of 4,094 votes. Mr. Nagendra secured 68,837 votes.
NARASIMHARAJA
Former Minister and sitting Congress MLA Tanveer Sait won comfortably in Narasimharaja constituency. He polled 83,480 votes over Sandesh Swamy of the BJP who secured 52,360 votes. SDPI’s Abdul Majeed secured a sizable 41,037 votes. In the triangular fight, Mr. Sait won for the sixth time, by a margin of 31,120 votes. With this win, Mr. Sait has established his supremacy in the Congress bastion and is a strong contender for a ministerial post.
Mr. Majeed managed to clutch over 40,000 votes like the good show he had put up in the last election. JD(S) candidate Abdul Khader secured just 3,548 votes.
