This story is from November 8, 2018

Karnataka's Shivamogga: Is BJP on a sticky wicket?

Karnataka's Shivamogga: Is BJP on a sticky wicket?
SHIVAMOGGA: While the BJP is upbeat over its performance in Mandya, the party is unlikely to be enthused with its victory in the Shivamogga Lok Sabha bypoll. BJP candidate, B Y Raghavendra, defeated Madhu Bangarappa of the JD(S) by 52,148 votes, but CM H D Kumaraswamy called it a moral victory for the alliance.
There is growing resentment against BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa, whom workers accuse of not taking the local leaders along.
In 2014, Yeddyurappa, the BJP candidate, won the seat by a margin of 3.6 lakh votes. Now, although seven of the eight assembly segments of the Lok Sabha seat are represented by the BJP, Raghavendra’s winning margin has sharply declined. Some suggest Yeddyurappa is losing his grip over the constituency.
What has shocked the BJP is that it failed to secure leads in three key assembly segments — Bhadravathi, Sagar and Soraba. “The party’s good show in Byndoor, Shivamogga city, and Shikaripura helped BJP win by a decent margin,” said H Mallikarjun, a resident of Shivamogga. “In other constituencies, the margin is less than 10,000 votes. If the JD(S) and Congress continue their alliance, the BJP may find it difficult to retain the seat.”
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