Karnataka Varuna Assembly Result 2023: Siddaramaiah wins, becomes MLA for 9th time

Varuna Election Results 2023: Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Saturday got a landslide victory in the Varuna constituency. He defeated his rival BJP's V Somanna by a margin of 46,006 votes. The 75-year-old leader got 1,19,430 votes against 73,424 polled by his BJP rival and influential Lingayat leader V Somanna.

Earlier in the day, the senior Congress leader said that the grand old party will come to power on our own strength. After taking an early lead in the Varuna constituency, the senior leader said corruption and anti-incumbency were real issues in the state and people wanted change. "I expect Congress to cross 120-mark. It's still the initial stage. We will form the government on our own strength Congress will win with over 120 seats," he said.

As per EC, Siddaramaiah currently has 119,816 votes while BJP's V Somanna has 73,424 votes. 

Earlier in the day, Siddaramaiah said Somanna will be defeated from both Varuna and Chamarajanagar constituencies.

“V Sommana will lose in both Varuna and Chamarajanagar seats. We had said that even if PM Modi comes nothing will work and see that has happened. As we expected we will get a majority,” said Siddaramaiah.

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The Congress is headed for a clear majority in Karnataka and appears on course to wrest power from the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Congress crossed the halfway mark around 2 PM and after six hours of counting, it was ahead in 137 seats. The saffron party, which was trying to retain its power in the only southern state, was leading in 63 seats. Meanwhile, the JD(S), which was wishing to be the kingmaker in case of a hung assembly, was ahead in 20 seats.

Failing to meet up to the expectations, Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai said the BJP has “not been able to make the mark”. He conceded defeat as Congress was leading in 136 of the 224 Karnataka Assembly seats, which was way above the magic number of 113. The BJP is ahead in 64, according to latest trends on the Election Commission website. The JD-S, which was hoping to be kingmaker, was leading in 20 seats. 

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said: “I thank and congratulate people of Karnataka, party workers and leaders.”

He added: "We didn't fight this battle using hatred," he says while speaking to reporters after Congress' massive win in Karnataka. "Karnataka mein Nafrat ki bazaar band hui hai, Mohabbat ki dukaan khuli hai."

#WATCH | "Karnataka mein Nafrat ki bazaar band hui hai, Mohabbat ki dukaan khuli hai": Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on party's thumping victory in #KarnatakaPolls pic.twitter.com/LpkspF1sAz

— ANI (@ANI) May 13, 2023

Read here for more: Karnataka Election Result 2023 LIVE

With most of the exit polls giving Congress an edge over other parties, all eyes will be on the Lingayat-dominated Varuna constituency in Chamarajnagar district. The Varuna constituency has been a stronghold for Congress leader Siddaramaiah and his family. The former chief minister has won the seat in 2008 and 2013 elections, while his son Yathindra won the seat in 2018 polls. 

Varuna comes under the Mysore district of Karnataka and is part of the Chamarajanagar Lok Sabha seat. The new assembly constituency came into existence after the delimitation of Assembly seats in 2008. 

Varuna will see former chief minister Siddaramaiah from Congress contest against Janata Dal (Secular) candidate Dr Bharathi Shankar and Minister for Housing V Somanna from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).   

Of the total electorate of 230,000 in the constituency, around 60,000 voters are Lingayats; Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have around 51,000 voters; and 20,000 Kurubas and 15,000 Vokkaligas are the other significant communities. BJP’s Somanna, who initially represented Govindaraja Nagar in Bengaluru, belongs to the community. Siddaramaiah hails from the Kuruba community. 

The BJP this time fielded Somanna in an attempt to woo Lingayat voters from the Congress. Senior BJP leaders said that they hoped for a shift of at least 40 per cent of the Lingayat votes to the party, with a particular focus on the constituency. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and former chief minister BS Yediyurappa have both campaigned in the constituency. 

 On the other hand, people in rural areas and Congress themselves believe that Siddaramaiah has a greater chance of a comeback. In speeches, Siddaramaiah has said that Varuna is where he was born, and his last election should be from here. 

In non-Lingayat areas, Siddaramaiah’s image of an AHINDA (a Kannada acronym that stands for minorities, Backward Classes and Dalits) has been beneficial for him in the past. In Sidddaramana Hundi too, where Kurubas are in substantial numbers, people have been talking about the development that came with Siddaramaiah’s political rise.   

As many as 1,98,740 people voted on May 10, taking the voter turnout percentage to 84.74 per cent, which is highest count in many years. During 2018 elections, 1,74,457 people voted and the turnout percentage was 79.2 per cent.   

State elections: The Karnataka election saw a three-cornered fight between BJP, the Congress, and the Janata Dal (Secular) (JDS). Exit polls on May 10 predicted a tight contest between the Congress and the BJP, where most polls gave Congress an edge over the ruling party.

Watch: Karnataka Assembly Election Results 2023 Today: Counting day time, key constituencies, key candidates, constituency-wise results