Mandya (Karnataka) :Former Karnataka Chief Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) candidate HD Kumaraswamy won from the Mandya Lok Sabha constituency. Kumaraswamy contested as the candidate of the JD(S)-BJP alliance and he defeated Congress candidate Venkataramane Gowda by 284620 votes.
Kumaraswamy, son of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, polled 851881 votes while Venkataramane Gowda, who stood second, bagged 567261 votes. Incumbent Mandya MP Sumalatha Ambareesh, who won as an independent in the 2019 elections, joined the BJP in March this year but announced she would not contest the 2024 elections.
Congress, aiming to wrest Mandya after a gap of 10 years, picked Venkataramane Gowda popularly known as ‘Star Chandru’, the brother of Independent MLA from Gauribidanur K H Puttaswamy Gowda, who backed the Congress in the Rajya Sabha polls earlier this year. Located between Bengaluru and Mysuru, Mandya is known for the rivalry between Congress and JD(S) to gain the upper hand. The BJP is relatively weak here but has been gaining strength in recent years.