The current Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has accepted defeat in the 2023 Karnataka assembly elections. Photo Credit: Murali Kumar
Congress emerged as the leading party in 120 seats till afternoon in the closely monitored Karnataka assembly elections. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai conceded defeat Stating that his party has not been able to make the mark and will do a detailed analysis once the full results are out. While incumbent Chief Minister Basavaraj Shree Bommai is maintaining a strong lead in his constituency Shiggaon with 53.05% votes, his Congress rival Pathan Yasir Ahmed Khan was seen trailing, hoping to secure a fourth consecutive term.
Here’s a look at how other ministers in the BJP’s current Karnataka cabinet fared in the election, where around 66% votes were counted in the afternoon-
V. Somanna, Housing Minister
constituency; Varun
Karnataka Housing Minister V. Somanna | Photo Credit: MA Sriram
Varuna constituency in Mysore district saw a crucial fight between BJP’s Housing Minister and Lingayat community leader V. Somanna and Congress veteran and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. According to Election Commission (EC) trends at 12.40 pm, the BJP minister has secured 26,049 votes and is trailing behind Mr Siddaramaiah, who won from the constituency in 2008 and 2013. In the 2018 Karnataka elections, the election was won by Lingayat leader Sri Somanna of the saffron party. Won Govindarajnagar in Bengaluru, where he is dominant. Ahead of the elections, he had accused rival Mr. Siddaramaiah of neglecting the Varuna constituency, saying he had done several development works, including opening hospitals and colleges and providing drinking water, besides ensuring cleanliness and peace in the Govindrajnagar assembly constituency. represented.
B Sriramulu, Transport Minister
Constituency: Ballari Rural
Karnataka Transport Minister and Ballari in-charge B. Sriramulu | Photo Credit: Sridhar Kavli
Transport and Scheduled Tribes Welfare Minister B Sriramulu is headed for a humiliating defeat in Ballari Rural constituency. He was trailing by 72,866 votes after the 17th round of counting. Congress candidate B. Nagendra is leading with 1,01,718 votes – an impressive margin of 28,852 votes. Before the elections, he has said that he could be the chief ministerial candidate in future if the party so decides, adding that the era of seeking the post of deputy chief minister for himself has already passed. Bellary has been the bastion of former BJP minister and mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy, who is Sri Sriramulu’s patron. Mr Reddy, who has been involved in a mining-related case, has been barred by the Supreme Court from entering Ballari and launched his party Kalyana Rajya Pragati Paksha (KRPP) last year.
Munirathna, Minister of Planning and Horticulture
Constituency: Rajarajeshwari
Karnataka cabinet minister Munirathna
State cabinet minister Munirathna is trailing in Rajarajeshwari Nagar by a margin of 9,980 to Congress candidate H. Kusuma. In the last two elections (2013 and 2018), the sitting MLA and minister in the state cabinet won as a Congress candidate. However, in 2019, Munirathna shifted his loyalty to the BJP along with 16 other MLAs from the Congress and the JD(S), resulting in the fall of the HD Kumaraswamy-led JD(S) and Congress coalition government.
In 2020, the constituency went for a by-election and Munirathna, who contested on a BJP ticket, defeated Kusuma H. of the Congress by a margin of over 50,000 votes. Subsequently, in 2021 he became a minister in the cabinet of Basavaraj Bommai government.
Filmmaker-turned-politician Muniratna was embroiled in several controversies in the past. In 2018, an FIR was registered against him and several others by the police following the seizure of thousands of voter ID cards in the apartment.
V. Sunil Kumar, Energy and Culture Minister
Constituency: Karkala
V. Sunil Kumar, Minister and BJP candidate from Karkala Assembly Constituency. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Energy, Kannada and Culture Minister and BJP candidate from Karkala Assembly constituency V. Sunil Kumar is leading by a margin of 4,602 votes, while Congress candidate Uday Shetty Munyal is trailing. If Mr. Kumar wins, it will be his fifth term from the Karkala assembly constituency. He won from Karkala in 2004, 2013 and 2018.
R Ashok, Revenue Minister
Constituency: Padmanabhanagar, Kanakapura
Karnataka Revenue Minister R. Ashoka | Photo Credit: Handout E-mail
BJP leader and Revenue Minister R.K. Ashok contested from two constituencies – Padmanabhanagar and Kanakapura. In Kanakapura, trends show that he has only been able to garner around 10% votes against Congress veteran DK Shivakumar, who is currently the leading candidate with votes. Meanwhile, in Padmanabhanagar, the BJP minister is currently leading by a margin of 46,718 votes, while Congress’s V. Raghunath Naidu is trailing. The current Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai accepted defeat in the state today, but Mr. Ashok had said before the elections that the BJP would form the government even if there was a hung assembly.