Bagalkot : In a significant win for the Congress in the Bagalkot bypoll, party candidate Umesh Meti, a first-time contestant, not only retained the seat but secured a decisive victory by a margin of 21,866 votes, defeating BJP’s Veeranna Charantimath, a three-time MLA.
According to official results after all 23 rounds of counting, Umesh Meti polled 97,941 votes, while Charantimath secured 76,075 votes.
Counting trends showed Congress taking an early lead from the first round itself, where it was ahead by 3,207 votes (6,106 against 2,899). The margin widened rapidly in the initial stages, crossing 15,000 votes by the sixth round.
Though the lead narrowed slightly to around 10,000–11,000 votes between the 8th and 12th rounds, Congress remained firmly ahead. By the 12th round, the lead stood at 10,534 votes.
From the 16th round onwards, the momentum clearly favoured Congress. The lead rose to over 13,000 votes by the 18th round and further increased to 14,875 in the 19th round.
In the final rounds, the margin surged steadily — reaching 16,471 votes in the 20th round, 17,205 in the 21st, and 19,944 by the 22nd round — before settling at 21,866 votes in the final tally.
The bypoll was necessitated following the death of former MLA HY Meti last year. The Congress fielded his son Umesh Meti, who was contesting his first election. The contest had drawn attention with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah taking personal care, given his long association with the late leader.
Charantimath, who had won the seat in 2018, was seeking to retain it for the BJP but fell short as Congress maintained its lead throughout the counting process.
The victory margin is the highest in recent decades in the constituency. The previous highest was in 2018, when Charantimath had defeated HY Meti by 15,934 votes.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
