A Hat-Trick in Dharwad
S.V. Sankanur has done it again. The seasoned Bharatiya Janata Party leader clinched the West Graduates’ Legislative Council seat for the third straight time, holding his ground in a closely watched political showdown.
Sankanur secured 33,711 preference votes at the counting center in Dharwad, comfortably outpacing his main challenger, Congress candidate Mohan Limbikai. Limbikai finished second with 24,388 votes, leaving Sankanur with a solid victory margin of 9,323 votes. Independent candidate Kantakumar R lagged far behind in third place, pulling in 4,055 votes.
For Sankanur, the outcome cements a decade-long grip on the constituency. Having first won the seat in 2014 and successfully defending it in 2020, this latest mandate proves his enduring grassroots appeal among educated voters across the region.
The Shadow of Invalid Votes
Despite the clear victory margin, the election was not without controversy. Election officials flagged more than 6,000 ballots as invalid during the counting process.
That high rejection rate immediately sparked heated debate among local graduates and campaign managers. Critics questioned whether voter education had fallen short, while party operatives analyzed how those thousands of rejected ballots might have shifted the final math if marked correctly.
“Over 6,000 votes ending up in the rejection pile raises serious questions about ballot clarity and voter instruction on preference voting,” noted a senior campaign observer at the Dharwad venue.
What Lies Ahead
With the count finalized in Dharwad, Sankanur prepares to return to the Karnataka Legislative Council for another six-year term. His immediate agenda will center on addressing key regional demands, particularly teacher pensions and employment policies for graduate professionals.
For the BJP, holding onto the West Graduates’ seat provides a strategic morale boost in North Karnataka, demonstrating that seasoned incumbents with deep grassroots connections can still weather tough political cross-currents.
