<p class="title">Kolar: The BJP has wrested the Congress fortress, the Kolar parliamentary seat, for the first time, creating a history of sorts. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The Congress’s veteran leader, former union minister and seven-time member of parliament, K H Muniyappa, bit the dust in the ‘Modi wave’.</p>.<p class="bodytext">BJP nominee S Muniswamy defeated Muniyappa by a margin of 2,09,671 votes.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Of the 16 Lok Sabha polls since Independence, the Congress candidates have won 15 times. The seat was represented by Muniyappa since 1991 for seven times.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Factionalism in the district unit shattered his dream of entering Parliament for the eighth time.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Political pundits attribute Muniyappa’s defeat to dissidence in the party unit and charges of ill-gotten gains and land encroachments.<br />Rivals projected him as a hurdle to smooth commissioning of the KC Valley project.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Compared to Muniyappa, Muniswamy was little known to voters. However, he rode on the Modi wave and emerged victorious.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Kolar Lok Sabha segment has 8 Assembly constituencies. Six constituencies are held by Congress candidates, while two by the JD(S).<br />Despite seven MLAs from alliance partners, Muniyapppa faced a huge setback. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Barring KGF, represented by his daughter M Roopakala, Muniyappa polled less votes in all seven segments. Anti-Muniyappa factions in all parties worked plotted to ensure his defeat.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A section of the Congress leaders have charged that the JD(S) leaders did not follow the dharma of<br />coalition.</p>.<p class="bodytext">JD(S) MLA from Kolar K Srinivas Gowda, former MLA from Malur K S Manjunath Gowda and a few other JD(S) leaders did not respect the party’s instructions and worked against Muniyappa.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Congress MLA from Srinivaspur and Assembly Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar, former MLA from Mulbagal Kothanur Manjunath and sitting MLA Congress’ MLA Nagesh, Shidlaghatta MLA V Muniyappa and former MLA from Chintamani M C Sudhakar Reddy formed a group and worked against Muniyappa. </p>.<p class="bodytext">According his rivals, Muniyappa ignored development of the constituency, which proved costly.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He was also over-confident that he would emerge victorious.</p>
<p class="title">Kolar: The BJP has wrested the Congress fortress, the Kolar parliamentary seat, for the first time, creating a history of sorts. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The Congress’s veteran leader, former union minister and seven-time member of parliament, K H Muniyappa, bit the dust in the ‘Modi wave’.</p>.<p class="bodytext">BJP nominee S Muniswamy defeated Muniyappa by a margin of 2,09,671 votes.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Of the 16 Lok Sabha polls since Independence, the Congress candidates have won 15 times. The seat was represented by Muniyappa since 1991 for seven times.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Factionalism in the district unit shattered his dream of entering Parliament for the eighth time.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Political pundits attribute Muniyappa’s defeat to dissidence in the party unit and charges of ill-gotten gains and land encroachments.<br />Rivals projected him as a hurdle to smooth commissioning of the KC Valley project.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Compared to Muniyappa, Muniswamy was little known to voters. However, he rode on the Modi wave and emerged victorious.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Kolar Lok Sabha segment has 8 Assembly constituencies. Six constituencies are held by Congress candidates, while two by the JD(S).<br />Despite seven MLAs from alliance partners, Muniyapppa faced a huge setback. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Barring KGF, represented by his daughter M Roopakala, Muniyappa polled less votes in all seven segments. Anti-Muniyappa factions in all parties worked plotted to ensure his defeat.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A section of the Congress leaders have charged that the JD(S) leaders did not follow the dharma of<br />coalition.</p>.<p class="bodytext">JD(S) MLA from Kolar K Srinivas Gowda, former MLA from Malur K S Manjunath Gowda and a few other JD(S) leaders did not respect the party’s instructions and worked against Muniyappa.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Congress MLA from Srinivaspur and Assembly Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar, former MLA from Mulbagal Kothanur Manjunath and sitting MLA Congress’ MLA Nagesh, Shidlaghatta MLA V Muniyappa and former MLA from Chintamani M C Sudhakar Reddy formed a group and worked against Muniyappa. </p>.<p class="bodytext">According his rivals, Muniyappa ignored development of the constituency, which proved costly.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He was also over-confident that he would emerge victorious.</p>