The ruling BJP lost badly to the Congress in the Udupi-Chikmagalur Parliamentary elections, suffering a defeat by an unexpectedly huge margin of 45,724 votes, which could prove a major setback both for it and Chief Minister D V Sadananda, fighting off a challenge to his position, as he had represented it before resigning to take over as CM. For the Congress the victory comes as a massive morale booster as it has come back to power in the coastal district after nearly a decade , bringing to an end the successful run of the saffron party in the constituency since 2004.
While a neck to neck race was expected between the two parties the results took many by surprise on account of the decisive win by Congress candidate K. Jayaprakash Hegde who polled 3, 98,723 votes as against 3,52, 999 by Sunil Kumar of the BJP and 72080 by S.L. Bhoje Gowda of the JD(S). Congress workers who were almost sure of his victory by the ninth round, burst into celebration. Mr Hegde, who joined them by round 12, later declared that his victory was only the beginning. “With this victory the Congress will make a comeback in the district and the region,” Mr Hegde told Deccan Chronicle.
Congress leader B. Janardhan Poojary did not fail to rub salt into the BJP's wounds. “As Sadananda Gowda and BJP have failed to retain the seat which he represented before he became CM, the government should go in for midterm polls,” he demanded.