The ruling BJP on Monday bagged 12 seats, more than the six it needed to retain a majority in the Karnataka Assembly. The win means the BS Yediyurappa-led government is now safe for the rest of its tenure.
The BJP needed to win at least six of the 15 seats to remain in 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, where byelections are yet to be declared owing to election-related petitions pending in court.
The Congress, which held 12 of the 15 seats where the bypolls were held, managed to win only in two seats -- Hunsur and Shivajinagar.
The counting of votes polled in the December 5 polls, which saw a voter turnout of 67.91 per cent, began at 8 am in 11 centres.
The bypolls were held to fill vacancies caused by the disqualification of 17 rebel Congress and JD(S) MLAs, whose revolt led to the collapse of the 14-month-old H D Kumaraswamy-led coalition government in July and paved the way for BJP to come to power.
(With Agency inputs)
#BypollResultsWithTNIE
— TNIE Karnataka (@XpressBengaluru) December 9, 2019
ST Somashekar supporters celebrating for his victory
Video by @vinodkumart5 @NewIndianXpress @santwana99 pic.twitter.com/RC9aKrDxbD
#BypollResultsWithTNIE @BJP4Karnataka #Shrimantpatil won from Kagewad Constituency with a margin of 18,251 votes. @XpressBengaluru @santwana99 @sunilpatilbgv pic.twitter.com/s7O7AkRKtc
— Chetana Belagere (@chetanabelagere) December 9, 2019
Karnataka Congress leader DK Shivakumar on #KarnatakaBypolls results: We have to agree with the mandate of the voters of these 15 constituencies. People have accepted the defectors. We have accepted defeat, I don't think we have to be disheartened. pic.twitter.com/UOLwXFASHt
— ANI (@ANI) December 9, 2019
#BypollResultsWithTNIE #Congress candidate #HPManjunath wins from #Hunsur constituency defeating veteran politician AH Vishwanath @XpressBengaluru @santwana99 @BJP4Karnataka @INCKarnataka pic.twitter.com/STYClJN6HA
— Chetana Belagere (@chetanabelagere) December 9, 2019
BJP makes inroads into JD(s) bastion Mandya with KC Narayan Gowda’s win in K R Pete with a margin of over 9000 votes.
Sudhakar has won in Chikkaballapur and Gopalaiah wins Mahalakshmi Layout seat.
#BypollResultsWithTNIE It’s a shocker in Mandya. If BJP manages to win KR Pete, it will create history with its entry into the formidable JD(S) bastion @santwana99 @XpressBengaluru @ShivascribeTNIE
— Chetana Belagere (@chetanabelagere) December 9, 2019
The BJP is now leading in 11 seats after winning the Yellapur constituency. JDS which had earlier taken the lead in Yeshvanthapura and KR Pete has dropped to second in both.
| Sl.No. | Constituency | Party leading | Party won |
| 1 | Yellapur | BJP | |
| 2 | Hirekerur | BJP | |
| 3 | Ranibennur | BJP | |
| 4 | Chikkaballapur | BJP | |
| 5 | Vijayanagara | BJP | |
| 6 | Mahalaxmi Layout | BJP | |
| 7 | Gokak | BJP | |
| 8 | Athani | BJP | |
| 9 | Kagwad | BJP | |
| 10 | KR Puram | BJP | |
| 11 | KR Pete | BJP | |
| 12 | Yeshvanthapura | BJP | |
| 13 | Shivajinagar | Congress | |
| 14 | Hunasuru | Congress | |
| 15 | Hosakote | Independent |
Shivaram Hebbar of BJP picks up the first for the saffron party. He trumped nearest rival from Congress Bhimanna Naik by 31406 votes.
BJP is ahead in 11 constituencies. That is comfortably above the 7 they needed to continue to remain in power.
JD(S) is ahead in 1, Congress is ahead in 2 and Independent candidate SK Bachegowda leads in Hosakote constituency.
#UPDATE Karnataka bypolls results trends: BJP leading in 10 seats, Congress & JDS leading in 2 seats each, Independent leading in 1 seat, as per EC trends; Counting underway in 15 assembly seats pic.twitter.com/I07Wv0ig0F
— ANI (@ANI) December 9, 2019
The ruling BJP party is leading in 10 seats while Congress and JDS have the lead in 2 seats each. BJP is confident of winning around 13 seats. (Read more)
At the end of the second round of counting of votes, the ruling BJP is leading in 10 out of 15 assembly segments that went to polls on December 5. The Congress and the JDS candidates are leading in two constituencies each, while BJP rebel candidate Sharath Bache Gowda is leading in Hosakote.
#Karnataka bypolls results trends: BJP leading in Yellapur, Chikkaballapur, Vijayanagara&Mahalaxmi Layout constituencies, Congress leading in Shivajinagar&Hunasuru constituencies, JDS leading in KR Pete and Independent candidate SK Bachegowda leading in Hosakote, as per EC trends
— ANI (@ANI) December 9, 2019
#Karnataka bypolls results trends: BJP leading in Yellapur, Chikkaballapur constituencies, Congress leading in Shivajinagar and Hunasuru constitiencies and JDS leading in KR Pete, according to official EC trends https://t.co/zKo70qsuMN
— ANI (@ANI) December 9, 2019
According to official EC trends at 9 AM, Congress and BJP are leading in two seats each while JD(S) has the lead in one constituency.
BJP's Hospet constituency candidate Anand Singh takes the lead after the first round.
BJP candidate Shivaram Hebbar leads by over 2000 votes over Congress candidate Bhimanna Naika after first round of counting for Yellapur Assembly.
Shivaram Hebbar 4694
Bhimanna Naik 2430
On bypoll results eve, CM Yediyurappa and JDS patriarch Deve Gowda visited temples. Opposition leader Siddararamaiah was in Badami, his constituency, where he met his constituents attending to their grievances. (Read more)
#KarnatakaBypollsWithTNIE #YellapurBypolls
— Arunkumar Huralimath (@Arunkumar_TNIE) December 9, 2019
Strong room is being opened in front of election observer Sridhar Jituri, district election officer Harish Kumar K, political party agents and others at MES college in #Sirsi @NewIndianXpress @XpressBengaluru @santwana99 @Amitsen_TNIE pic.twitter.com/PTHDRrpeAx
It's 8 AM and the crucial counting which will decide the fate of the current Karnataka government begins.
Counting of votes for Karnataka by-elections to take place today. Visuals from a counting centre in Bengaluru. pic.twitter.com/NlqlKdx707
— ANI (@ANI) December 9, 2019
The counting in the bypolls for 15 Assembly seats in Karnataka will start shortly. The outcome of the bypoll, which recorded 67. 91 per cent polling, is crucial for BJP, which needs to win at least six seats to remain in majority.
"11 out of the 12 newly-elected MLAs will be inducted as ministers. I had made a promise and I will keep it. No such promise was made to the Ranebennur candidate," said an elated BS Yediyurappa as trends turned favourable to his party. He can now breathe a sigh of relief.
Taking moral responsibility, senior Congress leader and former CM Siddaramaiah on Monday resigned as the party's legislative leader in the state.
Karnataka Congress chief Dinesh Gundu Rao too followed the suit and resigned from his post.
The Congress, which held 12 of the 15 seats where by-elections were held on December five, won only two, in a huge setback to the opposition party.
Congress tasted its 2nd win in the bypolls with the party's Arshad Rizwan trumping BJPs' M Sarawana. Rizwan breaks his election jinx after facing defeat in two Lok Sabha polls in the recent years.
