In a big blow to the ruling coalition in Karnataka, JD(S) patriarch and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda was defeated in Tumkur constituency by his BJP rival by a margin of over 13,000 votes, the Election Commission said Thursday.

G SBasavaraj secured 5,96,127 votes while Gowda got 5,82,788votes, according to the EC details.

The fight in Tumkur was also seen as a battle between - Lingayats and Vokkaligas - two dominant communities in Karnataka to which both Basavaraj and Gowda belong to respectively.

Gowda, the joint candidate of ruling Congress-JDS coalition, chose to contest from Tumkur at the last minute, after vacating Hassan-his home tuft, to grandson Prajwal Revanna.

It is also said Gowda, who had indicated about his retirement from electoral politics, reluctantly decided to contest, due to pressure from the party workers.

Congress had ceded Tumkur seat to JD(S) as per the seat-sharing arrangement, denying ticket to sitting MP Muddahanumegowda, causing resentment within.

Even though Muddahanumegowda, who had filed his nomination as a rebel had withdrawn his papers, there were doubts regarding Congress complete support to Gowda as many still considered him as an outsider. There were 15 candidates in the fray from Tumkur Lok Sabha seat that went to polls on April 18.

While for Gowda it was his first electoral battle from Tumkur, Basavaraj had represented the seat in Lok Sabha in the past - thrice from Congress and once from BJP. Basavaraj was defeated by Congress' Muddahanumegowda in

2014 Lok Sabha polls by a margin of over 74,000 votes.

First Published:May 23, 2019 10:54 AM IST