Karnataka by-polls: Congress delivers a shocker to BJP, wins Bellary Rural

In a development that might come as a major shock to the BJP, the Congress has snagged the Bellary Rural seat in the Karnataka assembly by-polls. This victory is a significant one for the Congress since the seat has traditionally been a BJP stronghold.

The seat has also been contested by current Minister of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in the past.

IBN Live reports, “The seat was earlier held by MP B Sriramulu. The Congress candidate NY Gopalakrishna has won the seat by 34,000 votes. The defeat in Bellary Rural is being seen as a huge setback for the BJP.”

This gives the Congress a clear lead in the election. The party has now bagged two of the three seats in which by-elections were being held in Karnakata.

However, the Congress victory might come as some vindication for Swaraj who had opposed the nomination of B Sriramulu from the party. A report on NDTV observes: “Bellary, the rich and graft-ridden heart of mining, was the constituency of BJP leader B Sriramulu, whose entry to the party earlier this year irked senior leader Sushma Swaraj on account of allegations of corruption.”

Congress supporters took to Twitter, obviously, to celebrate their victory and congratulated Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah for his work in the state which has ensured the win.

Shehzad Poonawala tweeted: