The Lok Sabha election results in Karnataka have delivered a significant blow to state Congress president and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, undermining his political ambitions on several fronts.
Karnataka Congress president and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar.
I will work to keep the trust of the people of the constituency.”DK Suresh, brother of Deputy Karnataka Chief Minister and senior Congress leader DK Shivakumar, addressed the media after acknowledging his defeat.
In short DK Shivakumar has not been able to deliver in the Vokkaliga heartland,” the leader added.
Reacting to the defeat, DK Shivakumar said, “The BJP has fielded a good candidate (in Bengaluru rural).
The Lok Sabha election results in Karnataka have delivered a significant blow to state Congress president and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, undermining his political ambitions on several fronts. Shivakumar’s efforts to establish himself as a dominant Vokkaliga leader in the Old Mysuru region have been severely hampered by the election outcome. This area, traditionally a stronghold of Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) chief HD Kumaraswamy, has not yielded to Shivakumar’s influence. Karnataka Congress president and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar. (File Photo)
Adding to Shivakumar’s woes, his brother DK Suresh, a three-time MP, suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of BJP candidate Dr CN Manjunath, who is also the son-in-law of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda. As per the latest data, Dr Manjunath led by a margin of 2.17 lakh votes, securing 9.42 lakh votes compared to Suresh’s 7.25 lakh votes.
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Talking to the media after the results, Manjunath said, “I did not expect such a huge victory. The hard work of workers and leaders has paid off. I dedicate this victory to the workers of the constituency. Although people did not come close to me during the campaign, they secretly supported me. I am grateful to everyone. I will work to keep the trust of the people of the constituency.”
DK Suresh, brother of Deputy Karnataka Chief Minister and senior Congress leader DK Shivakumar, addressed the media after acknowledging his defeat. “I will bow down to the people’s mandate. They have given an opportunity to new leadership. I wish good luck to Manjunath and the people of the state. I will remain as a common man and continue my work as a party worker. I appeal to party workers not to lose confidence. I accept victory and defeat in the same spirit. I thank them for their struggle. I had full faith in winning. However, people have given me rest. There is no question of backtracking. My struggle is going to continue in the coming days,” Suresh said.
Several factors contributed to DK Suresh’s loss, including the effective transfer of votes between JD-S and BJP, anti-incumbency sentiments against Suresh, and Dr Manjunath’s popularity as a cardiologist who made heart treatment affordable in the state. Among these, the seamless vote transfer between JD-S and BJP is seen as pivotal.
In the 2014 elections, Congress won with 6,52,723 votes (44.85%), while BJP secured 4,21,243 votes (28.95%), and JD-S received 3,17,870 votes (21.84%). The combined vote share of BJP and JD-S amounted to 7,39,113 votes (50.78%). In the 2019 elections, when Congress and JD-S joined forces, Suresh’s lead increased to 8,78,258 votes (54.15%), while BJP obtained 6,71,388 votes (41.40%).
A senior BJP leader, commenting on the election dynamics, said, “In the 2019 poll, when JD-Swas with Congress and BJP contested alone, then the BJP candidate got 6.7 lakh votes. Congress won, and the Congress-JD-S alliance secured 54.15% of the votes. With JD-S and BJP joining forces, combined with the people’s love for Manjunath, the transfer of votes has resulted in a big victory.”
This loss not only diminishes Shivakumar’s political clout but also serves as a personal setback. Political analysts have observed that the election turned into a fierce contest for control over the Vokkaliga bastions between Shivakumar and the family of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda. “The results clearly indicate that the Vokkaliga community did not rally behind Shivakumar as anticipated. Instead, their support gravitated towards the BJP and JD-S, maintaining the political status quo,” said a senior Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) official.
In Vokkaliga-dominated constituencies such as Bengaluru Rural, Tumkur, Chikkaballapur, Kolar, Mandya, and Mysuru, the BJP secured significant victories. “Among the nine seats we won, only two were from South Karnataka. One is Chamarajanagar, which doesn’t have a significant Vokkalaiga vote and the second is Hassan. Here, the Prajwal Gowda scandal and the lack of vote transfer led to the defeat. In short DK Shivakumar has not been able to deliver in the Vokkaliga heartland,” the leader added.
Reacting to the defeat, DK Shivakumar said, “The BJP has fielded a good candidate (in Bengaluru rural). I didn’t expect a defeat with such a high margin. I am accepting whatever results have come. There is a need to understand the message people have given to us. I believe we should have got more seats in the seat. We will look at the results and learn our lessons. I had thought we will get more seats because of the ‘guarantee schemes’.”
