Puttur: Pushpavati Gowda Kaluvaje of the BJP has defeated Bhagirathi Gowda Kumbladi of Congress by an impressive margin of 3520 votes in the by-election to the Belandur seat of DK zilla panchayat held a few days ago
The bypoll was caused by the death of earlier incumbent Savitri Shivaram, the sister of Union law minister D V Sadananda Gowda. Pushpavati secured 10,966 votes while Bhagirathi got 7,446. The most significant aspect of the poll was that not a single vote was invalid.
The quantum of votes secured by the BJP is much higher than those won in the last ZP, assembly and Lok Sabha elections. The setback for Congress has surprised many since SDPI too had pledged its support to it. In the earlier election, Savitri Shivaram had won by a margin of only 1,420 votes.
Analysts opine that the recent internal wrangle within the Congress party in Puttur may have contributed to the loss of thousands of votes.