Hubbali: Former Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka Laxman Savadi, who joined Congress after the BJP leadership denied him a ticket, was leading by a margin of 44,580 votes from the Athani Assembly seat in Belagavi district of North Karnataka.
Former Chief Minister and six-term MLA from Hubbali- Central Dharwad, Jagadish Shettar was trailing by a margin of 22,451 votes. He had also left the BJP after being denied the ticket to fight the May 109 Assembly poll.
It is to be noted that Hubbali- Central Dharwad has been a traditional stronghold of the BJP and RSS, and it was the first seat that Jana Sangh had won in South India in 1968.
In Gokak, BJP leader and former minister, Ramesh Jarikiholi was trailing while Laksmi Hebbalkar of Congress was leading in Belagavi rural seat.
IANS