HUBBALI: Former Chief Minister of Karnataka Jagadish Shettar, a six-term MLA from Hubbali-Central Dharwad, was trailing by 1, 900 votes after second round of counting on Saturday.
Shettar had left the BJP and joined Congress after he was denied a seat by the party national leadership. In Hubbali-Central Dharwad, considered to be a stronghold of the BJP, Shettar contested as a Congress candidate.
It may be recalled that it was Hubbali that Jan Sangh won the first time with Jagadish Shettar's uncle Sadashiva Shettar winning the seat in 1968. This was the first victory of Jan Sangh in South India.
Former Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, Laxman Savadi, who also shifted allegiance to Congress, was leading in the Athani Assembly seat in the Belagavi district of North Karnataka.