The BJP has won five times since 1998 (including 2018 by-election) while the Congress has won only once. In 2009, BY Raghavendra had defeated old warhorse S Bangarappa by a margin of about 50,000 votes. "We do not vote for the BJP in the assembly polls as its non-existent in Bhadravathi. This could prove costly for the BJP as the sitting Congress MLA had not worked for Bangarappa in the by-poll as he was miffed with Congress-JD(S) coalition government in Karnataka. One, Bangarappa's margin of loss in the by-poll was just 50,000 and secondly, the combined strength of the Congress and JD(S).

Source: Economic Times April 22, 2019 06:33 UTC