Mysore City has shared its three Assembly seats with three major political parties in the elections held on April 26. The results, which came out on May 13, after an anxiety filled wait of 17 days, threw up surprises not only in Mysore City, but also in Karnataka Assembly as well as Lok Sabha polls.

The major defeat in Mysore City was that of Mr. Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wodeyar of the Mysore royal family. His bid to retain the Mysore Lok Sabha failed when he was pushed down to a humiliating third position. His defeat was anticipated, voters expressing disenchantment over the Prince’s inaccessibility to the masses. It was a commoner, Mr. Vijay Shankar, who had earlier defeated Mr. Wodeyar and held the seat for a brief period when the first Government led by Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee lost its majority by a historic single vote, was elected with a clear mandate. His close rival was Mr. .S.Guruswamy,
who had defected to the Janata Dal (Secular) of Mr. H.D.Deve Gowda in the last minute, having failed to secure Congress ticket. Mr. Guruswamy had to remain content for the second position in the contest. Mr. Vijay Shankar hails from Hunsur.

Another notable defeat in the city is that of Mr. A.Ramadas of BJP. His attempt for a hat-trick failed as he was defeated by his immediate Janata Dal (Secular) rival Mr. M.K.Somashekar, a former Corporator. Mr. Somashekar had lost in the previous Assembly elections. Highly appreciated for his services and dedicated work, both in the party and the Assembly, Mr. Ramadas was expected to retain the seat for the third successive term. However, his hopes were dashed with a poor percentage of voter turnout in the constituency. As expected former Congress Minister Mr.S.Ramesh, who was a newcomer to the Krishnaraja constituency, performed poorly to take the third position.

The other two victories in the city were almost expected – those of Mr. H.S.Shankaralinge Gowda of BJP, who scored a hat-trick in the Chamaraja Assembly constituency and Mr. Tanvir Sait, son of Congress leader late Mr. Azeez Sait, who retained the seat in the Narasimharaja Constituency. Mr. Shankaralinge Gowda defeated the strong contender for the seat, Mr. Sandesh Nagaraj, Chairman of the Mysore Urban Development Authority, while former MLA and Janata Dal (S) candidate Mr. Maruthi Rao Pawar lost again in the Narasimharaja Constituency to Mr. Tanvir Sait.

While Mysore City shared the three seats with Congress (Narasimharaja), Janata Dal (Krishnaraja) and BJP (Chamaraja), the Mysore Taluk seat (Chamundeswari Constituency) went to the Janata Dal (S) with the victory of former Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who had suffered a humiliating defeat in the hands of Mr. A.S.Guruswamy, then Congress candidate, in the last Assembly polls. Former Director General of Police Mr.Revana Siddiaha of Congress also lost in his bid to enter the Assembly.

The Results:

Mysore Lok Sabha Constituency -

Assembly Constituencies:

Krishnaraja

Narasimharaja

Chamundeswari

In Mysore district, two significant defeats were of the Congress leaders, Mr. H.Viswanath in K.R.Nagar and Mr. M.Shivanna in H.D.Kote. Mr. Viswanath, who was Minister for Co-operation, was the incharge Mysore District Minister, while Mr.M.Shivanna was the Minister for Minor Irrigation.

Another notable defeat was that of Mr. M.Mahadev in Nanjangud. Mr. Mahadev was the District Minister for Chamarajanagar District. The dame luck favoured Mr. R.Dhruvanarayan of Congress by a margin of one vote in the Santhemarahalli Constituency of Chamarajanagar District. He defeated his Janata Dal (S) rival and sitting MLA Mr. A.R.Krishna Murthy, securing 40,752 votes. Unlucky Mr. Krishna Murthy secured 40,751 votes.

The winners in other Assembly Constituencies and their immediate rivals in Mysore District are:

Heggadadevanakote (Reserved)

Mr. M.P.Venkatesh (JD-S) - 50,759
Mr. N.Nagaraju (BJP) - 38,142
Mr. M.Shivanna (Congress) - 30,066

Hunsur

Mr. G.T.Deve Gowda (JD-S) - 60,258
Mr. Chikkamadu (Congress) - 46,126
Mr. Marilingaiah (BJP) - 19,967

Krishnaraja Nagara

Mr. Manchanahalli Mahahadev (JD-S) - 40,341
Mr. H.Viswanath (Congress) - 40,018
Mr. Sa.Ra. Mahesh (BJP) - 24,028

Periyapatna

Mr. Venkatesh (JD-S) - 39,357
Mr. K.S.Chandre Gowda (Congress) - 30,372
Mr. H.D.Ganesh (BJP) - 28,270