Karnataka bypolls: Rattled by loss at Sira & RR Nagar, Congress calls for introspection

Rattled by BJP's clean sweep in the Karnataka bypolls, state Congress chief DK Shivakumar admitted that he was shocked by the party's loss in the Sira constituency while confessing that he expected a defeat in the Rajarajeshwari (RR Nagar) constituency. 

Poll debutant & BJP candidate C M Rajesh Gowda beat Congress' TB Jayachandra to help the Saffron Party breach into the Opposition's stronghold in Sira. 

Addressing a press conference following the results, KPCC chief DK Shivakumar said that there was no one to be blamed for the party's defeat and said that he accepted the loss. 

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Further, DK Shivakumar revealed that Congress had anticipated a sure win in the Sira constituency but was left shocked with BJP's victory. The Congress leader said that the party would huddle to discuss what went wrong and how to win back the confidence of the people of Sira. 

Shivakumar also said that the party had expected the loss in the RR Nagar constituency but did not anticipate a defeat by such a huge margin.  

Shivakumar also tried to allege that the state government had indulged in wrongdoings such as the distribution of money but was quick to add that the people of the state did not give them as many votes as we had expected.

“I’ll not blame others for the defeat and as the party president, I own the responsibility of the defeat. The Congress party is thinking about fielding fresh faces. We’re looking to field educated candidates. In the coming days too, we will field fresh faces in upcoming elections. I still believe we chose the best candidate for the RR Nagar elections,” he added.

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BJP completes clean sweep in Karnataka bypolls

BJP candidate N Munirathna on Tuesday won the byelection to Rajarajeshwari Nagar assembly constituency in Karnataka, officials said. Munirathna, who joined BJP last year, defeated his closest rival Kusuma H of the Congress by a margin of over 57,000 votes, they said. JD(S) ended up a distant third. The bypoll for RR Nagar, held on November 3, was necessitated after the seat fell vacant due to the disqualification of the then Congress MLA Munirathna under the anti-defection law. 

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The ruling BJP in Karnataka created a history of sorts by bagging the Sira assembly segment in Tumakuru district for the first time with party candidate C M Rajesh Gowda emerging the winner in the recent byelection. The bypoll, held on November 3, has been necessitated in Sira following the death of JD(S) MLA B Sathyanarayana in August. Gowda defeated his closest Congress rival T B Jayachandra, a six-time MLA and former minister, by a margin of over 12,000 votes, officials said.

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