Newly-formed Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janatha Party (KPJP) won its maiden seat in Karnataka and might hold aces in a what is looking like a hung assembly.

R Shankar of KPJP defeated Congress candidate Krishnappa Koliwad in the Ranibennur assembly seat by 4,338 votes.

Shankar bagged 63,910 votes and Koliwad 59,572 votes. Basavaraj Dr. Kelagar of BJP came in third with 48,973 votes.

Started by D. Mahesh Gowda and veteran Kannada actor Upendra Rao, the KPJP was founded in January 2015 and was officially launched on October 31, 2017.

The party released its manifesto on January 2018 and ‘auto-rickshaw’ was selected as the official symbol on December 9, 2017.

In 2017, Upendra said that the KPJP will contest Karnataka elections in all assembly constituencies in 2018.

But on March 6, 2018, Rao resigned from the party after a misunderstanding with the founder Gowda.

Later on, he told reporters that he will soon register a new party 'Prajakeeya' and contest in the upcoming state elections.

As per media reports, the main objectives of the party were education, health insurance, good infrastructure, smart villages, agricultural development, encouraging small scale industries and promoting local talent.