Karnataka election results 2018: BJP's CM candidate BS Yeddyurappa wins in Shikaripura by over 35,000 votes

BJP’s chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa was on Tuesday elected to the Karnataka Assembly from Shikaripura by 35,397 votes, the Election Commission announced. Yeddyurappa, 75, defeated Congress nominee Goni Malatesha and seven others in his home constituency. Final tally of votes gained by top three candidates in Shikaripura:

• BS Yeddyurappa — BJP: 86,983 votes
• G Malatesha — Congress: 51,586 votes
• HT Balegar — JDS: 13,191 votes

Noisy celebrations broke out in party offices in Bengaluru, New Delhi and across Karnataka as Bharatiya Janata Party nominees were believed to be on the victory lap in 103 of 222 constituencies which voted on Saturday. [caption id=“attachment_4461281” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa. Twitter@narendramodi[/caption] This was a dramatic jump from the 40 seats the BJP won five years ago. Energy Minister and Congress leader D.K. Shivakumar said that the numbers indicated that his party was on the way out after five years in power. Any party or grouping will need 113 of the total 224 seats to secure a majority in the Assembly. Polling did not take place in two constituencies on Saturday. The BJP was overjoyed. “We are in a jubilant mood because we have crossed the half-way mark. We are confident of winning,” spokesman S Shantharam told IANS. BJP activists and leaders celebrated noisily in both Bengaluru and New Delhi, waving party flags and shouting slogans hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, their main vote-getter, and party President Amit Shah. There were also celebrations outside the residence of Yeddyurappa, who has been chief minister earlier too. BJP leader and Union Minister Sadanand Gowda said that there was no question of any alliance. Union minister Prakash Javadekar, who is in charge of Karnataka, met BJP President Amit Shah in New Delhi. Expectations of a BJP victory in Karnataka lifted the key Indian equity indices during the mid-morning trade session on Tuesday. According to market observers, broadly subdued Asian indices and disappointing macro-economic inflation data points released on Monday capped some gains. Sector-wise, healthy buying was witnessed in banking, capital goods, metals, consumer durables and automobile stocks. With inputs from IANS