Bengaluru: All three Assembly segments in Karnataka, for which the counting was underway on Saturday, were witnessing an intense fight in the preliminary rounds. The voting margin in the Sandur and Shiggaon seats was 205 votes and 440 votes respectively.
In the high-profile Channapatna seat, the margin was 1,155 votes.
In the Channapatna constituency, NDA candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy was leading with 1,155 votes at the end of four rounds. Nikhil polled 20,676 votes while the Congress candidate C.P. Yogeshwara got 19,521 votes.
There are 20 rounds of counting for this segment which witnessed a remarkable 88.80 per cent voting in the by-election. A total of 63 voters have opted for NOTA here.
In the Shiggaon Assembly constituency, the BJP candidate Bharath Bommai was leading by 440 votes in round three. He polled 16,071 votes and Congress candidate Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan got 15,631 votes. The counting of 15 rounds was remaining. 161 NOTA votes have been cast here.
Annapurna Tukaram, the Congress candidate is leading in the Sandur Assembly segment by 205 votes. She polled 23,877 votes at the end of five rounds. Her rival BJP candidate Bangaru Hanumanthu has got 23,672 votes. There are 19 rounds of counting for this Assembly segment. 281 persons have preferred the NOTA option.
Political parties in Karnataka are eagerly waiting for the results of the bypolls to three Assembly constituencies, the results expected by noon.
The three went to the polls following the resignations of legislators who successfully contested the Lok Sabha elections.
Of the three seats, the Channapatna seat is considered the most high-profile, as it has witnessed a showdown between the families of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and Deputy Chief Minister and Karnataka Congress President D. K. Shivakumar.
The by-elections were held for the Channapatna Assembly seat represented by Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H. D. Kumaraswamy, Shiggaon seat was held by former CM and BJP MP Basavaraj Bommai. The Sandur seat, where the BJP has never won, was represented by the Congress MP E. Tukaram.
–IANS