Karnataka Elections 2018: Siddaramaiah trounced in home turf Chamundeshwari

In big setback for Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has lost in Chamundeshwari constituency. Veteran JD(S) leader GT Devegowda swept the seat winning 61,351 votes as opposed to Siddaramaiah who managed only 37,279 votes.

The contest was seen as an ego tussle, where GTD is up against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who has been his old friend and colleague.

Just like the surveys predicted, Siddaramaiah suffered a massive defeat in his hometown - Mysuru. The surveys commissioned by the Congress and the state intelligence too said the same.

Chamundeshwari, which has attracted national attention as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is contesting the seat, is a largely semi-urban constituency on the outskirts of Mysuru. Siddaramaiah's political career could be at stake if Congress is unable to get a majority in Karnataka.

A look at the data of the previous election reveals the Congress has always had a consistent vote share of around 35-38 percent in Chamundeshwari.

Though part of it went to Varuna after delimitation in 2008, in most elections, it is either Congress or Siddaramaiah as an Independent in 1983 and subsequently as a Janata or Congress candidate who triumphed. The only time a non-Siddaramaiah Janata candidate won from Chamundeshwari was in 2013 when GT Deve Gowda won from the seat.

Chief minister Siddaramaiah faced what he has described as the toughest electoral battle in a political career that has spanned four decades.

JD(S) and Kumaraswamy have played the victim card successfully in Vokkaliga-dominated areas. While the prevalent perception among Vokkaligas may or may not be true, Siddaramaiah has certainly not done anything to convince the dominant peasant caste otherwise.

Chamundeshwari registered a voter turnout of 76.05% on Saturday and consolidation of certain groups of voters has led to speculation within the segment that a close contest could be on the cards

In 2013, he had won the assembly elections from Chamundeshwari constituency with a margin of 7,103 votes securing 42.87 percent of the total votes polled. He has also represented Hansur constituency in the past had mixed with BJP before re-entering JD(S). sixty-year-old was associated with Siddaramaiah for nearly three decades.

The polls on 222 out of 224-member Karnataka assembly took place on May 12.