DHARWAD: In a first in the state assembly polls, Congress candidate Vinay Kulkarni won the Dharwad Rural seat by a huge margin despite being banned from entering the district due to his alleged involvement in a murder case of a BJP worker.
Kulkarni defeated sitting BJP MLA Amrut Desai by a margin of 18,114 votes. While Kulkarni bagged 88,660 votes, Desai got 70,546 votes.
Kulkarni was granted bail by the Supreme Court in 2021, but barred from entering the district in connection with the murder of Yogish Gowda which took place in 2016. Kulkarni has been accused of destroying the evidence. Shivaleela, the wife of Vinay Kulkarni, expressed her joy and said the people of the constituency have supported their leader during difficult times.
“We have faced many hurdles after my husband got expelled from the district. He was not even allowed to file his nomination or to campaign. My husband’s win is not his win alone. It is the victory of the people of the constituency who voted for him”.
A relative of Kulkarni said BJP leaders not only ran a hate campaign against him but carried out raids on the houses of party workers to intimidate them.