Counting of votes for the August 21 by-poll elections to the three Assembly seats in Karnataka began on Monday morning.
Chikkodi-Sadalga, Shikaripura and Bellary Rural went to the polls after Prakash Hukkeri (Congress) and former Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa and B Sriramulu (both BJP) vacated their seats respectively following their election to the Lok Sabha.
The Congress has won an important borough in Karnataka today - it has wrested the Bellary Rural seat in the southern state from the BJP. Congress candidate NY Gopalkrishna wins Bellary Rural seat by 33,144 votes.
By-elections for three state legislature seats are being held today because the lawmakers from these constituencies contested and won May's national election and have become parliamentarians. Two of the seats being decided today are currently held by the BJP.
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.
The victory here for the Congress is a much-needed shot in the arm not just for the party but Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Though the Congress won the state election last year, evicting the BJP, it took only nine of the 28 seats in the national election.
