The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka marched ahead with its candidates establishing early leads in 13 Lok Sabha constituencies and its rival Congress in six and Janata Dal-Secular in four seats.
JD-S supremo H D Deve Gowda, who played a key role in formation of the Third Front, was surging ahead in his home turf Hassan against Congress candidate B Shivram, while his son H D Kumaraswamy was leading in Bangalore Rural over BJP rival C P Yogeshwar by 13,000 votes.
Sitting MP and BJP General Secretary H N Anantkumar trailed in the prestigious Bangalore South constituency by
more than 13,000 votes against Congress' B Krishna Byregowda.
In Uttara Kannada, Congress leader Margaret Alva was trailing by more than 6,000 votes against BJP'S Anantkumr
Hegde.
B Y Raghavendra, son of Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, has established a sizeable lead of 13,459
votes over Congress heavyweight and former Chief Minister S Bangarappa in Shimoga where he was locked in a fierce contest.
Other prominent candidates maintaining leads over their rivals include former Chief Minister N Dharam Singh in Bidar
who is leading by more than 4000 votes and Union Minister K H Muniappa in Kolar Reserved seat.
Cine star Ambareesh trailed behind by 18,000 votes in Mandya where JDS N Cheluvarayaswamy was leading.
In Bellary, Congress candidate N Y Hanumanthappa has established a slender margin over BJP's J Shanthi.
