Karnataka's ruling Congress got a shot in the arm on Wednesday by winning back two assembly seats in a bypoll where it was pitted against rival BJP. The bypolls -- to Nanjangud and Gundlupet seats in the southern tip of Karnataka -- were largely seen as a prestige battle between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and BJP veteran B S Yeddyurappa with both the leaders spending considerable amount of time campaigning for these elections.
The win is relevant for the Congress which had lost two veteran leaders, S M Krishna and V Srinivas Prasad, to the BJP in the last few months. Besides, the BJP, following its massive win in Uttar Pradesh last month, is hoping to wrest back Karnataka in state polls next year.
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Srinivas Prasad, a veteran dalit leader and state revenue minister till mid-2016, had quit the Congress after being removed from the post. Meanwhile, in Gundlupet, bypolls were held following the death of sitting legislator H S Mahadev Prasad in January. The two seats have been held by the Congress since 2008 while the BJP has never won there.
The Janata Dal (Secular) didn't contest these elections but its former member Kalale Keshavamurthy, who stood as a Congress candidate, emerged the victor in Nanjangud defeating Srinivas Prasad. In Gundlupet, Geetha Mahadev Prasad won the seat that her husband had represented for five consecutive terms.
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"I think it's basically two local issues which have defined and decided this bye-election," says political commentator Sandeep Shastri, adding that one cannot read too much into the results.
Yeddyurappa, the BJP's state president, said the bypoll outcome was unexpected. "I accept the defeat in bye-election, will bounce back in 2018 assembly elections with 150 seats," Yeddyurappa said on Twitter.
