Karnataka bypolls: BJP wins Yellapur seat by 31k votes

BJP candidate from Yellapur Arabail Shivaram Hebbar. (DH photo)

BJP candidate from Yellapur, Arabail Shivaram Hebbar, became the first candidate to register a victory in the by-polls to 15 assembly constituencies in Karnataka, for which the counting is underway on Monday.

Hebbar defeated Congress' Bhimanna Naik by a margin of over 31,000 votes, poll officials said, adding that official announcement was awaited. A two-time Congress MLA from Yellapur, Hebbar was among 13 disqualified MLA whom the BJP had given the ticket to contest the by-poll as the party candidate.