Karnataka Election: Congress' Siddaramaiah Wins From Varuna by 46,163 Votes

Congress leader Siddaramaiah. 

(Photo: Kamran Akhter/The Quint) 

Congress leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah won from the Varuna constituency in the 2023 Karnataka Assembly election by a margin of 46,163 votes.

He defeated opponent and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister V Somanna.

A massive turnout of 84.74 percent was recorded in the high-profile Varuna constituency, with 1,98,740 people casting their ballots out of the total voter population of 2,34,533. The voter turnout was 24,000 more than the 2018 polls, thus making the seat a keenly-watched contest.

The Congress had earlier claimed that Siddaramaiah would win by a margin of 25,000 votes, despite the BJP fielding a Lingayat heavyweight in the seat.

The Varuna constituency came into being in 2008, and has since then been held by the Siddaramaiahs.

In the 2018 election, Siddaramaiah's son Yathindra had won from Varuna after having received 96,435 votes (55.09 percent). The former Karnataka CM also won from the seat twice before.

The single-phase Karnataka Assembly election was held on Wednesday, 10 May. The state recorded its highest-ever voter turnout of 73.19 percent in the election.

While most exit polls had predicted an edge for the Congress, a hung Assembly had not been ruled out. Several polls also predicted that the JD(S) could emerge as the kingmaker in the polls.

While the Congress, the BJP, and the JD(S) are the main contenders in the election, several other parties also fielded their candidates. These include the Janata Dal (United), Aam Aadmi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist), and National People's Party.