Karnataka chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda on Wednesday termed as “unexpected” the BJP candidate’s defeat by a huge margin in the Udupi-Chikamagalur Lok Sabha bypoll and said the party needed to view the setback “very seriously”.
“Unexpected result has come,” said Gowda, who had vacated the seat after becoming the chief minister, necessitating the bypoll. “Of course, we thought that there will be a close fight (between the BJP and Congress).” Former minister and Congress candidate K Jayaprakash Hegde defeated BJP’s V Sunil Kumar by 45,724 votes, while JDS finished a poor third as its nominee Bojegowda secured 72,080 votes.