In the election to Hubballi-Dharwad Central Assembly constituency, a contest referred to as a fight between the ‘Lingayat hurt sentiment’ card of former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar and the ‘betrayal card’ of the BJP, Mr. Shettar has been handed out a shocking and humiliating defeat.
Mr. Shettar polled 60,775 votes against the 95,0064 polled by the BJP’s State general secretary Mahesh Tenginakai, thus losing by 34,289 votes.
Mr. Shettar’s rebellion had drawn the attention of the nation as the former Chief Minister, former Speaker and former Opposition leader had dared to disobey the saffron party’s diktat of retiring from active politics. He resigned as MLA, quit the BJP, and joined the Congress to contest as its official candidate from Hubballi-Dharwad Central.