New Delhi: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has won from the VIP seat of Shiggaon by over 20,000 votes against Congress' Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan. Bommai was seeking re-election for the fourth consecutive time from the segment.
The EC numbers at 11.30 am show that Bommai has secured 59,242 votes, while Congress candidate Pathan got 37,723 votes.
The Congress fielded Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan from the constituency, while Shashidhar Yeligar is the JD(S) candidate.
The Congress has not been able to win the seat, once considered its stronghold, since 1999. The JD(S) and independent candidates won from here in 1999 and 2004 respectively. Bommai first contested the Assembly elections in 2008 as a BJP candidate, after quitting Janata Dal (United).
The Congress had initially announced a ticket for Mohammad Yusuf Savanur, President of Anjuman-e-Islam of Hubballi from Shiggaon, but subsequently replaced him by fielding Pathan, a former Zilla Panchayat member from Bommanahalli in neighbouring Hangal taluk.
In 2018, Bommai polled 83,868 votes, defeating Congress' Sayed Azeempeer Khadri, who secured 74,603 votes, by 9,265 votes. In the 2013 and 2008 polls, Bommai won by defeating the Congress candidate Khadri by a margin of 9,503 votes and 12,862 votes, respectively.
The counting process began at 8 am across 36 centres throughout the state. Election officials anticipate a clearer picture of the results to emerge by mid-day. The voting on May 10 witnessed a "record" turnout of 73.19 per cent, as citizens cast their votes to elect representatives for the 224-member Assembly.
Exit polls have indicated a close competition between the Congress and BJP, causing leaders from both parties to feel anxious about the outcome. Meanwhile, the JD(S) appears to anticipate a hung verdict, which could provide an opportunity for them to play a role in government formation. The majority of pollsters have given a slight advantage to the Congress, while also acknowledging the possibility of a hung Assembly in the state.
It also remains to be seen whether former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda-led JD(S) will emerge as a "kingmaker" or a "king" by holding the key to government formation, in the event of a hung verdict, as it has done in the past.
Like it has been the trend for about the last two decades, Karnataka witnessed a three-cornered contest, with a direct fight between the said parties in most of the constituencies.