BJP insiders say Srinivasprasad's victory margin may drop n Allege blatant use of money power by Congress.
Bengaluru: The results of Sunday’s bypolls could come as a dampener for the Bharatiya Janata Party, which seemed confident of winning both, as going by post-poll predictions, the Congress has an edge over it in Gundlupet, and while it may lose Nanjangud to it, it may not be by as many votes as it would have liked.
The saffron party has reportedly not fared well in Nanjangud town, which has around 45,000 votes, but has done well in rural areas where a majority of Lingayats and Dalits are believed to have backed former minister, V. Srini-vasprasad, to whom the elections are a way of settling scores with the Congress owing to his unceremonious exit from the Cabinet.
Mr Kalale Keshavamurthy of the Congress is said to have polled more votes than him in the town as he is a local and familiar with the people .
“We were expecting Mr Srinivasaprasad to win by around 25,000 votes ,but now he could win by around 3,000 to 5,000 votes,” say his supporters.
While acknowledging the possibility of a much smaller victory margin, the former minister’s associates accuse the Congress of raining money on Nanjangud to ensure his defeat, claiming it had fixed Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh per booth in the constituency.
They also allege that the ruling party wooed the minorities, the Kurubas, and a section of the SC/STs and backward classes by distributing money with the help of even the local police in some villages.
In Gundlupet, it is believed both the Congress and the BJP have a 50:50 chance of winning. But the BJP claims the whopping 87.10 per cent voter turnout on Sunday was the result of the Congress luring voters to booths with its money power.
‘Congress spent Rs 100 crore’
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters in Mysuru, BJP candidate for Nanjangud V. Srinivasprasad alleged that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had created a Guinness record by spending Rs 100 crore on the Nanjangud and Gundlupet bypolls.
“The Chief Minister himself took the lead in distributing money and there were more poll irregularities in Nanjangud and Gundlupet constituencies than in the Chamundeshwari bypolls that Mr Siddaramaiah contested as a Congress candidate,” he charged, adding,” "My victory is certain but the victory margin may be lesser than anticipated."
