DHNS 

Bangalore, Dec 31: From a lead of 9,000 votes to ending up as a defeated candidate within a span of one hour. Bad luck struck at the last hour for BJP candidate in Turuvekere constituency - M D Lakshminarayana.

Lakshminarayana or Annaiah as he is popularly known, was leading in 16 rounds of counting. At around noon when he was leading by 9,000 votes, his supporters took his victory for granted and started celebrating. Media started taking his bytes as the winning candidate.

Even at the CM’s press meet in Bangalore, Yeddyurappa declared that BJP had won in six constituencies including Turuvekere. However, when counting of C S Pura hobli was taken up, the turnaround took place. JD(S) candidate M T Krishnappa started bridging the gap and soon started leading. Amidst all this, Lakshminarayana collapsed and was airlifted and admitted to a private hospital in Bangalore. State Chief Electoral Officer M N Vidyashankar said, there was no confusion during the counting. There was malfunctioning of an electronic voting machine with 541 votes. “We immediately referred it to the Election Commission in New Delhi. As per the guidelines since the number of votes that could not be counted was far less than the margin between the two candidates, the EC gave us the go ahead to declare the results,” Vidyashankar said.

Lakshminarayana recovering

Lakshminarayana, who was rushed to Manipal Hospital in Bangalore after he collapsed in Tumkur following a dramatic turn in election results, is now stable.
 
Lakshminarayana, collapsed after the onset of chest pain and involuntary movement of the limbs, according to Dr Chinappa S Metgud, MD, Head Operations, Manipal Hospital. His pulse and BP were stable on arrival, but he was drowsy for which an urgent CT and MRI brain was done, according to a press release. The findings of the tests were normal and he has been shifted to MICU for further evaluation and observation.