BJP leads in 5, Cong in 4 in Karnataka

BANGALORE: BJP was leading in five Lok Sabha constituencies and the ruling Congress in the state in four, as initial trends for nine of the 28 seats in Karnataka showed.

BJP was ahead in Chikkaballapur, Dakshina Kannada, Dharwad, Raichur and Shimoga and the Congress in Bangalore North, Belgaum, Chitradurga and Gulbarga, officials said.

Union Minister M Veerappa Moily was trailing B N Bache Gowda (BJP) in Chikkaballapur by over 3,500 votes as also his Congress colleague and former PCC chief Janardhana Poojary in Dakshina Kannada by over 9,000 votes against BJP rival Naleen Kumar Kateel.

Former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa was ahead of JDS candidate Geetha Shivarajkumar in Shimoga and state BJP President Prahlad Joshi was leading against Congress' Vinay Kulkarni in Dharwad.

Railway Minister Mallikarjuna Kharge was leading by over 1,000 votes in Gulbarga over BJP opponent Revunaik Belamagi.