In Mandya, Ramanagara by-poll results, BJP has something to smile about

Bengaluru, Nov 7: The BJP may have been 4:1 down against the Congress-JD(S) combine in the Karnataka by-elections, but here are some take aways from the polls that the party could take some solace from.

The BJP bettered its tally in both Ramanagara and Mandya, which have traditionally been Congress and JD(S) strongholds. The party for the first time polled over 2,00,000 votes in Mandya and this could have been due to the infighting between the Congress and JD(S) at the local level.

In the 2018 May assembly elections, the BJP had managed just 32,064 votes in Mandya. However in the by-elections, the results of which were announced on Tuesday, the BJP's Dr. Siddaramaiah polled 2,44,377 votes as opposed to the 5,53,374 polled by L R Shivarame Gowda of the JD(S). In the May elections, the JD(S) polled 69,421, while the Congress got 47,813 votes.

The BJP also managed to improve its tally in Ramanagara. In the May elections, the BJP had managed just 4,871 votes. The JD(S) bagged 92,626 while the Congress ended up with 69,990.

In the by-election despite the epic embarrassment for the BJP just two days before the polls, the party polled 15,906 votes. L Chandrashekhar had returned to the Congress just two days before the elections and had this not been the case and the party managed its campaign better, it could have ended up with much more votes.