JDS' Prajwal Revanna loses, Congress' Patel wins in Karnataka's Hassan

Prajwal Revanna lost in Hassan constituency.

Janata Dal (Secular) leader Prajwal Revanna lost in the Hassan Lok Sabha constituency by 42,649 votes, as per Election Commission of India. His opponent, Congress' Shreyas M Patel has won.

The Hassan constituency saw polling on April 26 in the second phase of the Lok Sabha 2024.

Hassan is one of the 28 Lok Sabha constituencies in Karnataka state where the poll battle is between JD(S)'s Prajwal Revanna and Congress candidate Shreyas M. Patel.

After JD(S) supremo and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda's first victory in 1991, he continued to be re-elected in 1998, 2004, 2009 and 2014. His grandson Prajwal Revanna won in 2019 when Congress and JDS were in alliance by a margin of over 1.14 lakh against the BJP candidate A Manju. Manju who contested on a Congress ticket in 2014 lost against HD Deve Gowda by a margin of over 1 lakh votes.

The BJP this time fielded incumbent Prajwal Revanna. A decades-old political fight was back with the Congress nominating Shreyas M Patel, grandson of former party MP late G Puttaswamy Gowda who had defeated Deve Gowda in 1999.

The Hassan Lok Sabha constituency has eight assembly segments under it – Kadur, Shravanabelagola, Arsikere, Belur, Hassan, Holenarsipur, Arkalgud and Sakleshpur.

The exit polls on June 1 had predicted the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) winning most of the seats in Congress-ruled Karnataka in the Lok Sabha elections.

Exit polls predicted BJP to win 23-26 Lok Sabha seats of the total 28 in Karnataka, which voted in two phases on April 26 and May 7, according to News18 Mega Exit Poll.

The estimated voter turnout in Hassan constituency was 77.68 percent in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, according to data released by the Election Commission of India.

In 2019, this seat registered a turnout of 77 percent, while it was 73 percent in 2014 and 69 percent in 2009.

While Hassan has long been a bastion of the (JD(S), controversies surrounding Prajwal Revanna significantly impacted the political landscape.

Revanna this year has faced serious allegations of sexual abuse.

Congress criticised the BJP for its alliance with JD(S) despite the serious charges against Prajwal claiming prior knowledge.

While Congress is in power in Karnataka, its presence in Hassan remains weak, holding only two of the eight Assembly constituencies within the Lok Sabha seat. The JD(S) dominates with six seats, while the BJP holds two.