Relief for Yedi as BJP sweeps bypolls

Bengaluru, December 9 

The ruling BJP on Monday swept the Assembly bypolls in Karnataka, winning 12 of the 15 seats to help the four-month-old Yediyurappa government retain majority. The BJP sweep had an immediate fallout in the Opposition Congress with its Legislature Party Leader and former CM Siddaramaiah and state Congress chief Dinesh Gundu Rao quitting their posts. The Congress won only two seats as against the 12 it held of the 15 which went to the bypolls. 

Turncoats had a field day as 11 of the 13 in the fray after joining the BJP emerged victorious. The BJP’s emphatic win echoed in PM Narendra Modi’s poll rallies in Jharkhand where he accused the Congress and its allies of “stealing and subverting” people’s mandate in Karnataka last year.  The Congress won only Hunsur and Shivajinagar seats. The bypolls were held to fill vacancies caused by disqualification of 17 rebel Congress and JD(S) MLAs. — PTI