BJP wins Belgaum LS, Basavakalyan Assembly seats

Bengaluru: The BJP won the Belgaum Lok Sabha and Basavakalyan Assembly constituencies, while the Congress was able to retain the Maski Assembly seat in the April 17 by-polls whose results were declared on Sunday. According to officials, in Belgaum Lok Sabha constituency, Mangala Suresh Angadi won by a margin of 5,240 votes over her nearest rival and Congress candidate Satish Jarkiholi by securing 4,40,327 votes.

While Mangala is the widow of sitting BJP MP and former minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi, who died of COVID last year, Jarkiholi is the Congress State working president and Yamakanmardi MLA in Belagavi district. An independent candidate, Shubhan Vikrant Shelke, backed by the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti and Shiv Sena, garnered over 1.24 lakh votes and stood third. In Basavakalyan, BJP's Sharanu Salagar defeated the Congress candidate Mala B Narayan Rao, widow of sitting Congress MLA late Narayan Rao, who too died last year due to COVID, leaving the Assembly segment vacant. Salagar garnered 38,999 votes against Mala who got 27,406 votes. The JD(S) candidate Sayed Yasrub Ali Quadri was a distant third with 9,509 votes, officials said.

In Maski, Congress candidate Basanagauda Turvihal secured 86,222 votes and defeated his nearest candidate Prathapagouda Patil with a huge victory margin of 30,606 votes. Patil was formerly a Congress MLA who had resigned from the Assembly in 2019 and later joined the BJP. His resignation had necessitated the by-poll. Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa greeted both the party candidates who won. Congratulating Mangala Angadi, Yediyurappa tweeted, "Heartfelt congratulations to Mangala Angadi for winning the Belgaum Lok Sabha by-election." He also thanked the voters of Belagavi who reposed their faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. Greeting Salagar, he tweeted, "My heartfelt thanks to all the voters who have blessed the Bharatiya Janata Party in the by-election to the Basavakalyan Assembly constituency. Congratulations to Sharanu Salagar, our candidate who won the confidence of the people of the constituency."

KPCC chief D K Shivakumar congratulated Turvihal on winning the Maski seat.