<p>In a major embarrassment, the BJP lost the Bellary Lok Sabha seat to the Congress after a gap of 14 years.<br /> <br />V S Ugrappa of the Congress secured 6,28,365 over his BJP rival J Shanta who secured 3,85,204 votes - margin of 2,43,161 votes.</p>.<p>The constituency, once a Congress bastion, has been the scene of the famous electoral battle in which AICC president Sonia Gandhi made her electoral debut defeating senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj in 1999. </p>.<p>Sonia won, but the BJP wrested the seat in the 2004 polls and had retained it since. The present bypolls were necessitated after sitting MP B Sriramulu of the BJP vacated the seat following his victory in the 2018 Assembly polls from Molkalmuru constituency in Chitradurga district. </p>.<p><strong>ALSO</strong><strong> READ</strong> <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/state/d-k-shivakumars-strategy-wins-701811.html" target="_blank">D K Shivakumar's strategy wins Bellary for Cong</a><br /><br /><strong>FOLLOW LIVE</strong> <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/liveblog/bypoll-result-3-lok-sabha-2-701797.html" target="_blank">JD(S)-Cong coalition eyeing big win</a></p>.<p>Sriramulu had won the seat defeating N Y Hanumanthappa of the Congress by a margin of 85,000 votes. J Shanta is the sister of Sriramulu.</p>.<p>The victory to the Congress has also given a shot in the arm to party Man Friday and Water Resources Minister D K Shivakumar, who is the district in-charge minister. </p>.<p>Shivakumar was also entrusted the task by the party to ensure the victory of the Congress candidate. It was a sort of proxy war between Shivakumar and Sriramulu. </p>.<p>Both Shivakumar and Sriramalu are known for their electoral management skills and ‘never-say-die’ attitude. As part of its coalition arrangement with the Congress, the JD(S) did not contest.</p>.<p>It now seems that the faction-ridden Ballari unit of the Congress did not adversely affect the party’s electoral prospects. </p>.<p>There was speculation that Hosapete (Vijayanagar constituency) MLA Anand Singh and Ballari (ST) constituency MLA B Nagendra may jump ship to the BJP after their demand for Cabinet berths were not met.</p>
<p>In a major embarrassment, the BJP lost the Bellary Lok Sabha seat to the Congress after a gap of 14 years.<br /> <br />V S Ugrappa of the Congress secured 6,28,365 over his BJP rival J Shanta who secured 3,85,204 votes - margin of 2,43,161 votes.</p>.<p>The constituency, once a Congress bastion, has been the scene of the famous electoral battle in which AICC president Sonia Gandhi made her electoral debut defeating senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj in 1999. </p>.<p>Sonia won, but the BJP wrested the seat in the 2004 polls and had retained it since. The present bypolls were necessitated after sitting MP B Sriramulu of the BJP vacated the seat following his victory in the 2018 Assembly polls from Molkalmuru constituency in Chitradurga district. </p>.<p><strong>ALSO</strong><strong> READ</strong> <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/state/d-k-shivakumars-strategy-wins-701811.html" target="_blank">D K Shivakumar's strategy wins Bellary for Cong</a><br /><br /><strong>FOLLOW LIVE</strong> <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/liveblog/bypoll-result-3-lok-sabha-2-701797.html" target="_blank">JD(S)-Cong coalition eyeing big win</a></p>.<p>Sriramulu had won the seat defeating N Y Hanumanthappa of the Congress by a margin of 85,000 votes. J Shanta is the sister of Sriramulu.</p>.<p>The victory to the Congress has also given a shot in the arm to party Man Friday and Water Resources Minister D K Shivakumar, who is the district in-charge minister. </p>.<p>Shivakumar was also entrusted the task by the party to ensure the victory of the Congress candidate. It was a sort of proxy war between Shivakumar and Sriramulu. </p>.<p>Both Shivakumar and Sriramalu are known for their electoral management skills and ‘never-say-die’ attitude. As part of its coalition arrangement with the Congress, the JD(S) did not contest.</p>.<p>It now seems that the faction-ridden Ballari unit of the Congress did not adversely affect the party’s electoral prospects. </p>.<p>There was speculation that Hosapete (Vijayanagar constituency) MLA Anand Singh and Ballari (ST) constituency MLA B Nagendra may jump ship to the BJP after their demand for Cabinet berths were not met.</p>