Karnataka by-elections: Ageless victory for the B S Yeddiyurappa family

By-elections were held for two Assembly constituencies - Rajarajeshwari Nagar (RR Nagar) in Bengaluru; and Sira in Tumkur district. BJP won both the seats

Amid the din of the Bihar Assembly elections, the politics behind a host of other Assembly by-elections went unnoticed. Take Karnataka.

By-elections were held for two Assembly constituencies — Rajarajeshwari Nagar (RR Nagar) in Bengaluru; and Sira in Tumkur district. Both seats are in the Old Mysore region, dominated by the politically influential Vokkaligas, represented by such leaders of stature as former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, his son and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, and others. Karnataka’s ruling classes have, for long, been either the Vokkaligas or the Lingayats [represented by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa (BSY)].