Karnataka Elections 2023: In flurry of Congress victories, upset for prominent Lingayat leader Jagadish Shettar

In Karnataka, the Congress looks poised for a comfortable win but the defeat of a closely-watched political heavyweight stands out in this stellar performance by the Opposition party. A former Chief Minister, Jagadish Shettar, has been in the news since the time he switched over from the ruling BJP to the Congress in the run-up to the assembly elections. A prominent Lingayat leader, Shettar lost to the BJP’s Mahesh Tenginakai by nearly 30,000 votes in the Hubli-Dharwad Central assembly segment. Shettar, a six-time MLA, joined the Congress last month after he was denied a ticket by the BJP to contest from Hubli-Dharwad Central. The veteran politician had then said he left the BJP because of “ill-treatment”. After the switchover to the Congress, party president Mallikarjun Kharge had said Shettar’s entry into the Congress would power the party with a thumping victory in the southern state. The BJP, however, had said that Shettar would fail to clinch a win. Hitting out at the veteran leader, former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, Karnataka’s tallest Lingayat leader, had said Shettar had “made a mistake”. “We had promised him a Rajya Sabha membership and we would make him a minister at the Centre. Amit Shah himself spoke to Shettar. I think he made a mistake leaving the party. We wholeheartedly supported him almost every time,” Yediyurappa had told the media. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.