Karnataka/New Delhi, Dec 9 (HS): Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) retains majority in the House by winning six seats in the bypolls in Karnataka giving a lifeline to the Yediyurappa government.
The elections were held on December 5 for Yellapur, Ranebennur, Vijayanagara, Yeshwantpur, Mahalakshmi Layout, Chikkaballapura, KR Puram, Shivajinagar, KR Pete, Hunsur, Athani, Kagwad, Gokak, Hirekerur, and Hoskote seats.
As per the results at 2:15 PM on Monday, BJP retained majority in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly after winning at least six of the 15 bypoll seats and is leading on the other six seats. While the Congress party has bagged only one seat as of now. Besides, an independent candidate is leading in one.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the Karnataka people have “punished” the Congress and JD (S) both and taught them a lesson for subverting the mandate in Karnataka. While addressing an election rally in Jharkhand today, he said, “Congress and its allies subverted the mandate in Karnataka, “stabbed” it in the back. These parties will now have to bite the dust.”
This is imperative to say that 15 rebel MLAs from the Congress and JD(S) parties defected to the BJP in July this year in a bid to bring down the coalition government led by chief minister H D Kumaraswamy.
Subsequently, all of those MLAs were suspended from the House but were allowed to contest the elections. Yediyurappa led BJP government in Karnataka needed six seats to prove its majority in the House.
