The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) resounding win in two Assembly by-election seats in Karnataka has come as a morale-booster for Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa.

The convincing win in RR Nagar and Sira by-polls has silenced the critics within the BJP, who had slammed the CM’s handling of the State economy and the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the by-election results, which were declared on Tuesday, BJP candidate Muniratna defeated his rival, the Congress’ H Kusuma, in RR Nagar by a margin of 57,936 votes. Muniratna resigned from Congress and left his Assembly seat to join the BJP, necessitating the election.

In Sira, a constituency held by the Janata Dal Secular (JDS), the BJP made inroads as its candidate CM Rajesh Gowda won by 12,949 votes, defeating his nearest rival and former minister TB Jayachandra of the Congress. The JDS nominee Ammajamma, whose husband B Satyanarayana’s death necessitated the by-election, polled 35,982 votes.

In addition to the Assembly by-elections, counting for biennial election to the Karnataka Legislative Council from two graduates’ and two teachers’ constituencies is also ongoing, with the BJP leading in all seats.

Decoding the victory

Revenue Minister R Ashoka played a key role in RR Nagar, proving that he is no small player when it comes to Bengaluru politics.

In Sira, the BJP, which has previously always finished third, won the Vokkaliga-dominated seat. The credit for this win has been attributed to the State unit’s vice-president BY Vijayendra, son of Yediyurappa, who had camped in Sira for nearly three weeks. The win has raised his stock in the party as well.

The win has also exposed chinks in the Opposition. During the run-up to the elections, Opposition parties portrayed a lack of coordination. Supporters of Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar backed their individual leaders rather than showing unity. In addition, the Congress also saw discordant notes among its top leaders during the campaigning.

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