A sweep in the coastal region and overwhelming performance in Bombay Karnataka helped the Bharatiya Janata Party boost its tally, while the grip over Old Mysore region helped the Janata Dal (Secular) stay afloat politically.
The Congress suffered severe reverses in southern Karnataka, with outgoing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah not only losing from Chamundeshwari but also the Mysuru bastion. This helped the JD(S) consolidate its position in the Vokkaliga-dominated seats. Out of the 38 such seats, the JD(S) won 31.
A candidate of the BJP, a pre-poll ally of the JD(S), managed to defeat the Congress candidate in Kollegal. The BJP now has three seats in Mysuru district, after having had zero seats in the plains of south Karnataka in 2013. The party also made inroads into Hassan district, with a victory in Hassan constituency, and made a considerable showing in Tumakuru district by winning four seats.
Among those defeated in the region are three defectors — N. Cheluvarayaswamy from Nagamangala, H.C. Balakrishna from Magadi, and Ramesh Bandisidde Gowda from Srirangapatna — who had joined the Congress barely three months ago. In Chamundeshwari, an expected close fight turned out to be a rout for the Congress, while for Mr. Siddaramaiah, the saving grace is that his son Yathindra won in Varuna. If there is any solace for the Congress, it is the party having made a headway in Chickballapur and Kolar districts.
The decision to seek ‘religious minority’ status to Lingayat seems to have backfired in Bombay Karnataka region, where clearly even the row over the Mahadayi water sharing issue failed to dent the rise of the BJP. The Congress lost 14 seats here, while the BJP’s tally went up from 13 to 30 seats.
Four Ministers in the Karnataka Cabinet and also the Speaker lost in the region, while Panchayat Raj Minister H.K. Patil scraped through with less than 2,000 votes. M.B. Patil, who became the face of the Lingayat movement, won comfortably despite a campaign by Veerashaiva seers who opposed the move.
Significantly, the seats held by the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti in Khanapur and Belagavi South have gone to the Congress and the BJP; while, the candidate from Karnataka Pragnyavantara Janata Party (KPJP) — which had gained some fame for its brief association with actor Upendra — defeated Speaker K.B. Koliwad of the Congress.
Surge in the coast
Perhaps even crossing all expectations, the BJP registered a near-clean sweep in the coast and Malnad regions, where their campaign narrative was based largely on Hindutva and the deaths of 24 people affiliated to the sangh organisations. Here, with a vote share of more than 50%, the BJP won 28 out of the 33 seats, a major increase from just eight the party and its faction the KJP had won in 2013. In its wake, the Congress’ tally went down from 18 to five, while the JD(S) drew a blank here.
The local BJP units dedicated two victories to their “murdered karyakatas”, while in Belthangady, where it dethroned a five-term MLA, the party said it was because of Mr. Siddaramaiah eating fish and visiting Dharmasthala temple there.
If in 2013 the BJP had won one seat and the Congress seven, this time around, it was reversed. In Udupi and Kodagu districts, it was a clean sweep. In Shivamogga, the merger of the BJP’s faction saw the party winning six out of the seven seats.
Cong. stands tall in HK
Despite the BJP winning in Hyderabad Karnataka, the Congress managed to retain its bastion. While it faced a rout elsewhere, it managed to retain 21 seats here while losing two. The BJP tripled its tally from five to 15, while the JD(S) won some, lost some, and kept the same tally.
In Kalaburagi district, the home district of Congress Leader in the Lok Sabha M. Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress’ performance faltered, and the party won five seats and lost two. On the other hand, the BJP improved its strength from just one seat in the last elections to four seats now. Malikayya Guttedar, six-time MLA who quit the Congress and joined the BJP “to take on” Mr. Kharge’s influence in the region, lost in Afzalpur to M.Y. Patil, who left the BJP to join the Congress.
