BJP wins the byelection to Belagavi Lok Sabha Constituency in a nail-biter of a finish

Returning officer K. Harish kumar (third from left) hands over the victory certificate to Mangala Suresh Angadi (to his left) of the BJP on April 2.

 

In a nail-biting finish, Mangala Suresh Angadi of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the Belagavi Lok Sabha constituency by a margin of 5,240 votes against Satish Jarkiholi of the Indian National Congress. While Mangala Suresh Angadi secured 4,40,327 votes, Jarkiholi secured 4,35,087 votes. The lead swung between Mangala Suresh Angadi and Jarkiholi through the day with the decision becoming clear only at the end of the final, 89th round of counting.

Independent candidate Shubham Vikrant Shelke, who is backed by the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti, managed to secure more than 1 lakh votes. The byelection was necessitated by the death of Suresh Angadi, former Union Minister of State for Railways who passed away because of COVID-19 last year. Angadi had won this seat in 2019 with a margin of almost four lakh votes.

The results to two Legislative Assembly constituencies, Basavakalyan and Maski, were also declared today with the Congress and the BJP sharing victory in one constituency each. Sharanu Salagar of the BJP won in Basavakalyan by defeating Congress candidate Mala B. Narayanrao by a margin of about 20,000 votes. While Salagar had polled 70,554 votes, his nearest rival Mala B. Narayanrao managed to get only 50,108 votes. Sayed Ali Quadri of the Janata Dal (Secular) finished an embarrassing third with only 10,152 votes. The byelection was necessitated by the demise of Congress MLA B. Narayanrao who died of Covid complications last year.

In Maski, Congress candidate Basanagouda Turuvihal defeated BJP candidate Pratap Gouda Patil by a margin of more than 30,000 votes. While Turuvihal secured 86,222 votes, Patil only managed to get 55,645 votes.