Congress wrests Karnataka from ruling BJP with highest-ever vote share of 42.9%

In the 224-seat Assembly, the ruling BJP got only 65 seats as it lost hold over the only state in South India where it was in power.

Former Prime Minister H D Devegowda's JDS, which had hoped to emerge as the kingmaker in case of a hung verdict, had to be satisfied with 19 seats, while others got one seat.

The BJP secured 36% vote share and JDS 13.3%, occupying the second and third positions respectively.

In the 2018 Karnataka elections, Congress had bagged 80 seats, standing second with a vote share of 38.14%, an improvement from 36.6% in the 2013 election when the party won 122 seats.

Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah won from Varuna, the legacy seat of the Congress, by outsmarting BJP's V Somanna by 46,006 votes, in his seventh appearance in Karnataka polls.

DK Shivakumar, the Karnataka Congress President, and powerful Vokkaliga man, won with a commanding majority of 1,21,595 votes, continuing to retain the constituency which has been electing him since 1989.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had carried out a gruelling campaign for his party, congratulated the Congress for its win.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi congratulated the people of Karnataka and party leaders, and said, "This is the victory of Karnataka".

In a veiled attack on the BJP, the former Congress chief said, "In Karnataka elections, on one side was the power of 'crony capitalists', while on the other side was the strength of the people. The strength of the poor has defeated the power of the capitalists."

Anti-incumbency was written all over BJP's electoral fortunes with as many as 14 ministers tasting defeat in the hustings.

The list of defeated ministers includes B Sriramulu from Ballari, JC Madhuswamy from Chikkanayakanahalli, Govinda Karajol from Mudhol, Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar from Chikkaballapur, MTB Nagaraj from Hoskote, BC Patil from Hirekerur, Murugesh Nirani from Beelagi, KC Narayangowda from KR Pete, BC Nagesh from Tiptur, Shankar Patil from Navalgund, Halappa Achar, R Asok from Kanakapura and Narayan Gowda

Housing Infrastructure Development Minister V Sommanna was routed in both Varuna and Chamrajnagar seats.

However, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai won by a huge margin from the Shiggaon constituency.

Ministers who won the election include - Araga Jnanendra from Thirthahalli, CC Patil from Navalgund, Prabhu Chauhan from Aurad, ST Somashekar from Yeshwanthpur, Byrati Basavaraj from KR Puram, Gopalaiah from Mahalakshmi layout, Shashikala Jolle from Nippani, Sunil Kumar from Karkala, Munirathna from Rajrajeshwari Nagar and Shivaram Hebbar from Yellapur.

In an apparent turnaround, the defeat of 38 out of 68 Lingayat BJP candidates signified a major shift in Kittur Karnataka's loyalty.

This dismal show comes despite a last-ditch effort by the BJP to woo the community by hiking its reservation through the distribution of 2 percent quota by cancelling the Muslim quota under the OBC category.

The ire of Lingayats against BJP might have started after the saffron party asked their strongman BS Yediyurappa to step down from the chief minister's post.

Though Yediyurappa was replaced by another Lingayat leader Basvaraj Bommai as chief minister, it failed to pacify the community as numbers suggest.

To the dismay of the BJP yet again, the Lingayat factor came to the fore for discussion when the BJP denied tickets to their heavyweight leaders including Jagadish Shettar and Laxman Savadi.

Soon after the desertion of these strong Lingayat leaders to the Congress, Yediyurappa initially claimed that it would hit the electoral prospects of the BJP in the runup to the election, but later clarified that the community is backing the saffron party despite their losses.

A major question haunting political pundits now is whether this result reflects the reconciliation of the Lingayats with the Congress.

At this point in time, it is difficult to get an appropriate answer, but political circles feel more than the Congress attracting the community, it is the indiscretion of the BJP that might have weaned away the community vote from the saffron party.

This win for the Congress is a major boost in the runup to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and upcoming assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana.

A battered and mauled BJP can draw inspiration from the way it bounced back in the 2019 Lok Sabha election with big numbers, despite losing Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh assembly polls.

With the Congress set to form the government, the party will now have to choose between Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah, which has the potential of souring the grand old party's victory celebrations, as both have been vocal about their desire to become chief minister.