The Congress has stormed the Janata Dal (Secular) bastion in Mandya by winning 5 of the 7 seats in the district while the BJP’s efforts to make inroads into the Vokkaliga heartland has come a cropper.
Congress candidates Ravikumar Gowda was elected from Mandya, P.M. Narendraswamy was elected from Malavalli, A.B. Bandisiddegowda from Srirangapatna; N. Chaluvarayaswamy from Nagamangala and K.M. Uday from Maddur. Darshan Puttanaiah who contested as Sarvodaya Karnataka Paksha candidate, won the polls by defeating his nearest rival C.S. Puttaraju of JD(S). The only face saver for the JD(S) is the victory of its candidate H.T. Manju in K.R. Pet where he has trounced former Minister Narayanaswamy of the BJP.
