It has been a humiliating outcome for the Congress and the JD(S) parties in Kodagu as the BJP candidates have emerged victorious in both the constituencies in the district.
The BJP has retained its strong fortress with the victory of M P Appacchu Ranjan and K G Bopaiah. Appacchu Ranjan has won for a consecutive third time in Madikeri. He had won from Somwarpet in 1994 and 1999 and from Madikeri in 2008 and 2013. Ranjan has won with a huge margin of 16,015 votes, which is four times more than the previous elections.
Referring to his winning margin being larger than ever, Ranjan said he was grateful to the voters. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charisma and BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa’s guidance have worked in his favour, he added.
Congress faced an utter defeat in Madikeri, with party candidate K P Chandrakala ending in the third position. She had polled 38,219 votes at her disposal. However, the votes of Congress have increased by 32,000, compared to 2013 elections.
Hat trick
Voters in Virajpet have proved that they are with BJP candidate K G Bopaiah this time too, while Arun Machaiah from Congress has lost badly.
Bopaiah has retained his seat in Virajpet. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly from Madikeri once and from Virajpet twice in 2008 and 2013. He has, therefore, set a hat trick in Virajpet, by winning the election this year too.
Speaking on the occasion, Bopaiah dedicated his victory to the party workers. He expressed his happiness for having been offered with another chance to serve the people. The caste-based politics should stop, he added.
Bopaiah had been maintaining a lead since the beginning of the counting process. In the first round, he was leading with 1,075 votes and jumped to a 6,924-lead in the third round. The margin increased by 8,331 by the 10th round. Even though the gap narrowed in the 11th and 12th rounds, Bopaiah marched towards victory.
Responsibility
Congress candidate C S Arun Machaiah said that he takes the entire responsibility for this defeat. The welfare programmes of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah were not translated into votes in the constituency, he added. Arun said he could not bring victory to the party he represented, despite the hard work by the party workers.
Sanket Poovaiah, the JD(S) candidate from Virajpet, failed to give a tough competition to his rival and was able to earn 11,224 votes only. He thanked his voters and said he respects the people’s mandate. He hoped that the winning candidate will work towards solving the problems of the people of Virajpet.
Akhila Bharata Hindu Mahasabha candidate Bhargava Cheriyamane managed to get 1,109 votes. None of the independent candidates has reached the 1,000-vote mark.