Karnataka Election 2023: H D Kumaraswamy Defeats BJP's CP Yogeshwara To Win Channapatna Constituency

Karnataka Election 2023: H D Kumaraswamy of Janta Dal (Secular) wins from Channapatna constituency by a margin of 15,915 votes.

Bharatiya Janata Party's CP Yogeshwara and Janta Dal Secular's HD Kumaraswamy ( Image Source :PTI, Twitter/@CPYogeeshwara )

The Congress party on Saturday emerged victorious in the Karnataka Assembly election 2023 by crossing the simple majority mark of 113. Whereas the Janata Dal (Secular) which was touted to emerge as the deciding factor in forming the government due to a hung assembly predicted by exit polls could only manage to win 19 seats. However, JD(S) second-in-command and two-time chief minister of the state H D Kumaraswamy won from the Channapatna seat defeating Bharatiya Janata Party's CP Yogeshwara by a margin of 15,915 votes.

Congress candidate Gangadhar S finished third with 15,374 votes, according to the Election Commission website.

Kumaraswamy had also contested elections from Channapatna, known for wooden toys, instead of Ramanagara in 2018 against local strongman Yogeshwara. The JD(S) leader won by a margin of 21,530 votes.

Yogeshwara has represented the constituency five times since 1999 as an Independent, and as a candidate of Congress, BJP and Samajwadi Party, PTI reported.

Both Yogeshwara and Kumaraswamy belong to the dominant Vokkaliga community in the region.

Kumaraswamy, who entered politics in 1996, has won Lok Sabha elections twice and assembly polls five times.

Kumaraswamy is a former Chief Minister of Karnataka and Yogeshwara is an Indian Politician and Actor from the state of Karnataka who served as the Minister of Tourism, Environment and Ecology Department of Karnataka earlier.

Karnataka registered a "record" turnout of 73.19 per cent in the voting on May 10, to elect representatives to the 224-member Assembly.

Earlier in the day, Kumaraswamy said he accepts defeat and victory with equanimity and the loss in the Karnataka Assembly polls was not final for him and his party.

"I welcome the mandate of the people of the state. In a democratic system, the mandate of people is final. I accept defeat and victory with equanimity. However, this defeat is not final, my struggle will not stop, I will always be with the people. I thank the people who have blessed our party," Kumaraswamy said, according to PTI.