Yellapur: Disqualified legislator Shivaram Hebbar, who was fielded by the BJP, romped home to victory by a huge margin of 31,406 votes in Yellapur on Monday, breaking his own record of the 2013 election when he had won by a margin of 24,482 votes on a Congress ticket.
Although seven candidates were in the fray, the fight was between Mr Hebbar and Congress candidate, Bheemanna Naik. The Bharatiya Janata Party candidate, who has won his third consecutive win from the constituency, led from the first round of counting and was declared winner after it was completed around 10 am.
Visibly happy, Mr Hebbar attributed his victory to the development work he had carried out in Yellapur in his past terms.
“A former Chief Minister and Congress leaders, who campaigned in the constituency, tried their best to defeat me, but the intelligent voters did not pay them any attention.
(Former Speaker) Ramesh Kumar disqualified us, but today people have disqualified his decision,” he told reporters here.
Congress leaders agreed that Mr Hebbar’s rapport with the voters helped him win from Yellapur.
“Hebbar has always maintained a close bond with the voters and this has helped him in the election. The BJP’s promise to make him a minister too seems to have worked,” said a Congress leader.
Interestingly, JD(S) candidate A Chaitra polled less votes than NOTA. Meanwhile, former KPCC chief B Janardhan Poojary, blamed the defeat of the Congress on “the arrogance” of its leaders.
“Months ago I had asked them with folded hands and tears in my eyes to shed their arrogance and work. But I was not heard and today they are paying the price. If they do not mend their ways, the Congress will die and the BJP will win,” he warned.
With this win, all of Uttara Kannada district, except the Haliyal assembly segment, is with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
