Karnataka Congress chief D.K. Shivakumar, who is contesting from his stronghold seat Kanakapura has managed to spring a surprise on Thursday after getting Narayana Gowda, a senior leader from JD(S) to join the party.
Gowda had contested against Shivakumar in the 2018 elections and had got 47,643 votes. The BJP has fielded R. Ashoka, who is the sitting Minister for Revenue and a Vokkaliga face of the party. The JD(S) has fielded B.R. Ramachandra this time.
Shivakumar, who is aspiring to become the CM candidate, if Congress is voted to power, wants to win with a thumping margin in elections. However, the fight is tough for ShivaKumar as Ashoka is fully backed by the BJP and the JD(S) candidate has traditional vote bank here.
Shivakumar had won with a margin of 79,909 votes in the 2018 Assembly elections in Kanakapura and got 69 per cent of votes. BJP's Nandini Gowda managed to get only 6,273 votes and had lost the deposit.
JD(S) leader Narayana Gowda joined Congress party on Thursday along with another senior JD(S) leader Prabhakar Reddy. With this development, Shivakumar is hoping to retain the huge margin of votes and achieve victory.
(With inputs from agencies)
