Karnataka By-Election Results 2019: 'First rebel' Ramesh Jarakiholi wins from Gokak

Bengaluru, Dec 09: BJP candidate Ramesh Jarakiholi, who spearheaded Operation Lotus leading to the fall of the H D Kumaraswamy government won comfortably from Gokak.

59-year old Ramesh has won the Gokak constituency five times on the Congress ticket and even became a minister in the previous JD(S)-Congress regime. He represents Karnataka's fourth-largest community of Valmiki.

He is locked in a bitter fight with his younger brother Lakhan Jarkiholi, from the Congress.

In 2013, INC won this seat with a margin of 28,005 votes (19.4 per cent) securing 54.86 per cent of the total votes polled. While in 2008 INC won the seat with a margin of 7,760 votes (6.23 per cent) registering 36.1 per cent of the votes polled.

The bypolls were necessitated caused by the disqualification of 17 rebel Congress and JD(S) MLAs, whose revolt led to collapse of the H D Kumaraswamy-led coalition government in July and paved the way for BJP to come to power.

The BJP needs to win at least six of the 15 seats to remain in the majority in the 225-member assembly including the Speaker, who has a casting vote), which would still have two vacant seats Maski and R R Nagar.

The ruling BJP has 105 MLAs (including an independent), the Congress 66 and the JD(S) has 34 MLAs. There is also one BSP member, a nominated member and the Speaker.