The lotus once again bloomed in Karnataka as the BJP registered an impressive show in the by-election to the eight Assembly constituencies. The BJP bagged five of the eight seats, whereas JD(S) managed to garner only three seats. But the Congress has to bite the dust as it could not win even a single seat. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state has every reason to smile as its ?Operation Lotus? has paid rich dividends. Now with this historic win, the party has met the constitutional requirement of crossing the half-way mark in the House for a majority. The party'sstrength has now gone up to 115 after its victory in the by-poll held on December 27.
Describing the BJP'swin as a positive vote for stability and development, a visibly happy Chief Minister Dr. BS Yeddyurappa said that people of Karnataka had given the stamp of approval for the welfare programmes he initiated, policies and the performance of his government over the last seven months. ?This unprecedented victory has increased our responsibility,? Dr. Yeddyurappa said and promised the people that his government would strive to live up to their expectations by giving good governance. Shri Yeddyurappa'scabinet colleagues like Cooperative Minister Lakshman Sangappa Savadi, Minister for PWD Udasi Mahalingappa, Minister for Major and Medium Irrigation Basavaraj Bommai, Minister for Labour Bachhe Gowda, Minister for Food and Civil Supplies Halappa, Minister for Medical Education Ramachandra Gowda, Minister for Rural Development Shobha Karandlaje and others were present in the CM'shome office?Krishna?to offer sweets to their leader Shri Yeddyurappa.
The results in Turuvekere constituency turned out to be a shocker for the BJP as its candidate MD Lakshminarayana, who had maintained a lead of about 7,000 votes till the beginning of the last round of counting, lost to Janata Dal (S) candidate MT Krishnappa. JD (S) won this seat with a slender margin. MD Lakshminarayana, BJP candidate from Turuvekere, was rushed to Manipal Hospital in Bengaluru after he collapsed in Tumkur following a dramatic turnaround in vote counting.
Anita Kumarawamy, wife of the former CM, present MLA and JD(S) party president Kumara-swamy won the Madhugiri seat and created a record of being the first couple to enter the assembly. Family of Deve Gowda now has three MLAs: Kumaraswamy (son), Anita Kumaraswamy (daughter-in-law) and Revanna (son). Congress suffered a suffered a crushing defeat as it scored a big zero in the by-election results. More embarrassing news for the Congress is the loss of deposits to its candidate S Guru Charan in Maddur constituency. Maddur is the hometown of the former CM, former Governor of Maharashtra and a national leader Shri SM Krishna. Despite several Congress leaders actively canvassing in all the eight constituencies, the Congress failed to open an account. Shri RV Deshpande, Chief of Karnataka Congress unit, attributed his party'sfailure from desisting of several leaders like Siddaramaiah from canvassing.
