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Former Chief Minister of Karnataka and senior BJP leader BS Yediyurappa, along with his sons BY Vijayendra, the state BJP chief, and BY Raghavendra, the sitting MP and candidate from Shimoga, cast their votes on Tuesday at a polling booth in Shivamogga.
After casting his vote, Yediyurappa expressed confidence about BJP's prospects, stating, "We are going to win a minimum of 25 to 26 Lok Sabha constituencies." His son, BY Raghavendra, echoed this sentiment when he said, "I am very happy; there is a very good atmosphere regarding BJP. I request the voters of our constituency and our state to cast your vote in the interest of the nation. I think we will reach a good percentage." State BJP chief Vijayendra said, "Everyone's decision is one and the same - to be with PM Modi. He should be the PM once again in the interest of the nation. So, that is the atmosphere amongst all voters. I am confident that despite there being a Congress government in Karnataka, people support the BJP." Congress has fielded Geetha Shivarajkumar from the Shimoga seat for the ongoing election and KS Eshwarappa is contesting as an independent candidate after he was expelled from the BJP earlier. Eshwarappa was unhappy over his son being denied a Lok Sabha ticket from Haveri seat and blamed Karnataka BJP President Vijayendra and his father the veteran BS Yediyurappa for his son KE Kantesh being denied the ticket. Shivamogga, a bastion of the Yediyurappa family since 2009 is voting in the third phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections today. Talking about the independent candidates from the state BY Vijayendra said, "Independent candidates will not make any difference for the party. This will not have any impact on BY Raghavendra. He has done good work. So, he will win with more than 2.5 lakh votes." Shimoga comprises of eight assembly segments Shimoga Rural, Bhadravati, Shimoga, Tirthahalli, Shikaripura, Sorab, Sagar and Byndoor. Karnataka has 28 Lok Sabha seats and elections in the state are being held in two phases. Voting for 14 seats concluded on April 26 and the voting in the remaining 14 seats is underway. Counting of votes is scheduled for June 4. In 2019, BJP almost swept the state by winning 25 out of 28 seats, while Congress and JD-S -- who were running a coalition government in the state -- could only win one seat each. This time BJP and JD-S are in coalition with the former fighting on 25 seats, while the latter is contesting three seats. (ANI)
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