Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Dec 6: The by-poll in the state went off peacefully on Thursday December 5, and poll predictions have given thumbs up for the survival of the Yediyurappa-led state government. However, actual fate of the government will be known only on December 9 when counting of votes is scheduled to take place.

Surveys undertaken by news channels in the state say that the BJP will bag most of the seats. Suvarna, TV 9, Network 18 and Public TV have published their post-poll survey reports. All these surveys have predicted that the BJP will bag eight to 12 of the 15 seats where the by-poll was held. As such, on the basis of these surveys, Yediyurappa can breathe easy for now.

The surveys have said that there is neck-to-neck fight between the BJP and the Congress in Ranebennur, Kagwad, K R Pet and Shivajinagar constituencies. Rizwan Arshad of the Congress is fighting against Sharavana fielded by the BJP in Shivajinagar while K B Koliwad of the Congress is fighting against BJP's Arun Kumar in Ranebennur. Raju Kage of the Congress is pitted against BJP’s Shrimant Patil in Kagwad. The fight is between Narayana Gowda of the BJP and Devaraj of the JD(S) in K R Pet. A couple of surveys said that independent candidate Sharath Bache Gowda in Hoskote can prove to be a match for his BJP rival.

The surveys have given winning edge to Ramesh Jarkiholi in Gokak, Byrathi Basavaraj n K R Pura, Mahesh Kumathalli in Athani, Gopalayya in Mahalaxmi Layout, Anand Singh in Vijayanagara, Shivaram Hebbar in Yallapur and MTB Nagaraj in Hoskote. All these are BJP candidates. H P Manjunath in Hunsur, Raju Kage in Kagwad and M Anjanappa in Chikkaballapur, who are fielded by the Congress, have been given chances of victory. In Yashwanthpur where Jawarayi Gowda of the JD(S) is fighting against S T Somashekhar of the BJP, Gowda has been given the edge. The surveys also predict good chances for JD(S) candidate in K R Pet where the party's K C Narayana Gowda is fighting against B L Devaraj of the BJP.