With the former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa returning to the Bharatiya Janata Party fold and BSR Congress chief B. Sriramulu just a step away from being re-inducted into the parent party, the BJP is in an advantageous position in the Hyderabad- Karnataka region.
If the votes secured by the BJP, the Karnataka Janata Paksha, and BSR Congress in the 2013 Assembly election are any indication, the Congress, which won 23 of the 40 seats in the region, will find it difficult to retain its hold in the Lok Sabha elections.
The BJP won just five Assembly seats in the region consisting of Gulbarga, Bellary, Koppal, Raichur and Yadgir districts.
Of the total 69,56,806 votes polled in the region, the Congress secured 17,98,885 and the combined tally of the BJP, the KJP and the BSR Congress was 20,36,539 votes. The combined figures of the BJP and the KJP itself was 16,05,622 votes, which is about 1.9 lakh votes short of the votes secured by the Congress.
The emergence of the KJP and the BSR Congress inflicted mortal injuries to the BJP in the region. The candidates of these two parties caused telling damage to the prospects of the BJP in many constituencies.
The performance of the BSR Congress, particularly in Bellary, Raichur and Koppal districts, had been impressive.
The party won two seats in Bellary district, with a vote share of 19.35 per cent. Its corresponding vote share in Raichur was 10.25 per cent and Koppal was 7.3 per cent.
Although the KJP could win only three seats in the region, the party made its presence felt strongly by polling an impressing 7,27,632 votes.
The Congress, which won two of the five Lok Sabha seats in the region in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, has again fielded incumbent MPs — Railway Minister M. Mallikarjun Kharge from Gulbarga and the former Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh from Bidar.
The going appears to be tough for Mr. Singh in Bidar after the KJP’s merger with the BJP. The combined voting figures of the BJP and the KJP was 40,9761 against 27,5526 by the Congress in the Assembly elections.
Although the sailing appears to be a smooth for Mr. Kharge, considering the development projects he brought to Gulbarga while holding the Labour and Railway portfolios, the voting figures in the Assembly elections show that the fight will be close.
While the Congress polled 39,9302 votes, the combined voting figures of the BJP and the KJP was 39,3263. If we add the votes of the BSR Congress, it would become 40,0084. The BJP won the Raichur, Koppal, and Bellary seats in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.
