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.