‘Clear mandate from public’: Congress celebrates victory in Karnataka assembly bye-elections

BENGALURU: The Congress party on Saturday secured a sweeping victory in the Karnataka assembly bypolls, winning all three contested seats–Shiggaon, Sandur, and Channapatna.

Congress in-charge for Karnataka, Randeep Singh Surjewala, celebrated the win in a post on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “Congress sweeps Karnataka by-elections! Congress won the Channapatna Assembly by 26,929 votes. CP Yogeshwar of Congress defeats Nikhil Kumaraswamy of JD-BJP. Congress wins Sandur Assembly, retains the seat Annapurna Tukaram of Congress wins, defeating B Hanumantappa of BJP by 9,568 votes. Congress wins the Shiggaon Assembly, wrests the seat from BJP. Bharath Bommai of BJP loses to Yasir Pathan of Congress by 13,446 votes.”

Congress sweeps #Karnataka by-elections !👉 Congress wins Channapatna Assembly by 26,929 votes. C.P.Yogeshwar of Congress defeats Nikhil Kumaraswamy of JD-BJP.👉 Congress wins Sandur Assembly, retains the seat. Smt. Annapurna Tukaram of Congress wins defeating B. Hanumantappa… pic.twitter.com/V8akzF8Rf4
— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) November 23, 2024

He added, “A victory for leadership of Mallikarjun kharge & Rahul Gandhi! A victory of Congress workers, Congress Guarantees, and Congress Govt’s policies as also the leadership of Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah & PCC President, DK Shivakumar!”Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar called the win a rejection of BJP’s narrative in the state.

“In Shiggaon, Sandur, and Channapatna, the people have rejected the statements made by the BJP and NDA leaders. Their alliance will never work in Karnataka,” he said.

In Sandur, Congress leader E Annapoorna expressed her gratitude to voters. “I’m happy that the people of the constituency have chosen me. I’ll try to meet their expectations. I, along with the MP (her husband E Tukaram), will work for the betterment of the constituency. People have voted not only over our guarantees, but they considered me as one of their own, and that’s why they have chosen me,” she said.

Congress MLA Sharath Bachegowda also underlined the clear mandate for Congress policies.

“The victory which the Congress party has achieved in Karnataka (assembly by-elections)—we are winning all three seats by a very comfortable margin. This is a clear mandate from the public that the kind of facilities that the Govt is giving to the public and the kind of politics that we are doing is being universally accepted by the people of Karnataka. Karnataka is a state which has continuously rejected this kind of caste and communal politics and we can see this once again,” he said.

He also dismissed BJP’s allegations against the Congress government. “Whatever allegations the BJP is making are unfounded. The government has been very transparent in its dealings. This is a grand victory for Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar’s government,” Bachegowda added. (ANI)