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ISSUES '98
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State:	Karnataka
Constituency:	Belgaum
Total Votes Polled:	660679
Winner: JD	Koujalaji Shiv Anand Hemappa	224479
Runner Up: BJP	Babagouda Patil	153842
Margin: 70637 (11.01%)

Another Congress stronghold that changed loyalties in the last election. After voting Congress down the line, this constituency suddenly found a fancy for the JD which had stood fourth in the previous elections. In 1996 the BJP was in second position, winning almost 24 % of the votes. There was another novelty about the 1996 election: 456 candidates entered the fray, and barring three the rest were Independents.