Kanakapura, Nov 24 (Reporter) Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Sunday credited the Congress Party's success in the Channapatna byelection to the "direct and indirect" backing from leaders and workers of the JD(S) and BJP. Addressing reporters in Kanakapura, Shivakumar stated, "Had it not been for the support, both open and covert, from BJP and JD(S) leaders, we wouldn’t have secured such a large vote share. I sincerely thank them for their contribution." Shivakumar highlighted the significant improvement in Congress's performance, noting that in the previous Assembly elections, the party had secured just 16,000 votes. This number had risen in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and surged further in the recent byelection. Responding to Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy's remarks that "money power" was behind his son Nikhil Kumaraswamy’s defeat, Shivakumar said, “What about DK Suresh’s defeat in the Lok Sabha elections? Kumaraswamy’s own family was elected using similar methods. Shouldn’t we question these claims?” When asked whether Ramanagara district had effectively become JD(S)-free, Shivakumar dismissed the notion, saying, "Their tally in the Assembly will drop from 19 to 18. That’s all...////...