The BJP had managed three seats in 2004 while the Congress won Dharwad rural, Dharwad urban and Hubli urban. Janata Dal (U) had won the Kundgol seat which has now gone to the BJP.
BJP could wrest the Dharwad rural (now renamed Dharwad), Hubli urban (renamed Hubli-Dharwad east) and Dharwad urban (renamed Hubli-Dharwad west) seats from Congress to emerge stronger. Former minister Jabbarkhan Honnalli, former MLA Vinay Kulkarni suffered defeats at the hands of the BJP.
Former minister Jagadeesh Shettar set a record by winning for the fourth successive time when he entered the Assembly from the renamed Hubli-Dharwad (central) while another BJP candidate Siddanagouda Chikkanagoudar who won twice from Kalghatagi achieved a hat-trick by winning from Kundgol. He defeated former MLA C S Shivalli (Congress) and former minister P C Siddanagoudar (JD-S).
For Chandrakant Bellad, gaining entry into the assembly from Hubli-Dharwad (West) was not a surprise but the whopping margin of 33,347 votes is certainly a surprise. He snatched the seat from Congress and entered the Assembly for the fourth time. The Congress and JD(S) fielding Muslim candidates Only made Bellad's job easier.
While Shettar and Bellad had it easy, the lone woman BJP candidate Seema Masuti could just scrape past Congressman Vinay Kulkarni by just 723 votes. Denial of Congress ticket to former minister S R Morey had drifted away certain Congress voters. Amrut Desai of JD(S) who initially threatened to do well faded out of the reckoning as the counting progressed.
Another former minister K N Gaddi lost for the second time in Navalgund with BJP's young nominee Shankar Patil Munenakoppa making it by a margin of 16,895 votes. Efforts by N H Konareddy of JD(S) could only improve his performance but could not make him win. For the BJP which retained the seat the decision to change the candidate clicked.
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Jagadeesh Shettar defeated Shankaranna Munavalli of Congress while Veerabhadra Halaharavi (BJP) outsmarted F H Jakkappanavar of Congress.
Mine lord Santosh Lad who migrated from Sandur to Kalghatagi hoping to capitalise on dominant Maratha votes won with ease against his nearest rival C M Nimbannavar of BJP.
Though Janata Dal(S) has failed to win a seat and even be the nearest rival in any of the constituencies in the district, it has succeeded in reducing the share of votes of both the BJP and Congress. Rebels from both parties are also responsible for the fall in share of votes.