DKS: BJP, JDS LEADERS HELPED CONGRESS WIN CHANNAPATNA

A day after the Congress swept the three bypolls in Karnataka, Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, who is also the KPCC president, said that the BJP and JDS leaders extended their tacit support to Congress candidate CP Yogeshwara, ensuring his victory against NDA's Nikhil Kumaraswamy.

- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @Bengaluru

On senior JDS leader GT Devegowda's statement that he would join the Congress if that is the desire of his supporters, "It is not just GT Devegowda's opinion... a lot of people want to do it. Many in the BJP have the same thought. Could we (Congress) have won the seat if the BJP leaders had not supported us?" Yogeshwara defeated Nikhil Kumaraswamy by a margin of over 25,000 votes in the bypolls for which the results were announced on Saturday.

"BJP leader Dr CN Ashwath Narayan on Saturday said that he knew about Yogeshwara's victory beforehand. Is he dumb to say this, having been a district in-charge minister and DyCM in the past? He read the pulse of the voters," Shivakumar told media persons in Kanakapura.