Bengaluru, May 4 -- Congress registered a major political victory in the Karnataka Assembly bypolls on Monday, retaining the prestigious Bagalkot seat with a record margin and surging ahead in Davanagere South, delivering a strong boost to the ruling party while dealing a setback to the BJP.
In Bagalkot, Congress candidate and first-time contestant Umesh Meti retained the seat vacated following the death of his father and former MLA H Y Meti, defeating BJP veteran and three-time MLA Veerabhadrayya Charantimath by a massive margin of 21,866 votes.
According to official results declared after all 23 rounds of counting, Umesh Meti secured 97,941 votes against Charantimath's 76,075 votes. The victory margin is considered the highest recorded ...