Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) became the single largest party in Karnataka election as it came almost face to face with the halfway mark in the state. The BJP won 104 seats, Congress 78, and Deve Gowda's Janata Dal (Secular) 38 and independents two. The state has 224 assembly seats, however, polling was held only in 222 seats. The seats of Raja Rajeshwari Nagar and Jayanagar are yet to go to polls. In major losses to Karnataka's Congress seats, several senior Congress leaders and ministers lost their seats. Even former CM Siddaramaiah lost one of the seats he contested.
However, Congress soon flung into action and in its bid to block the BJP from forming yet another government, has joined hands with the JD(S) to hold a combined majority of 116 seats. The ball is now in Governor Vajubhai Vala's court, and it remains to be seen whether he will invite the BJP as the single largest party to form a minority government or invite the Congress-JD (S) combine with 116 seats to form the government. In either case, the government should prove its majority on the floor of the House to ensure five-year rule.
Vala, who vacated his Rajkot II seat in Gujarat Assembly for PM Modi to win his first Assembly election from Gujarat in 2001, was appointed Karnataka's governor in September 2014 soon after the BJP stormed to power. The old BJP hand who is considered close to the Prime Minister, has put all appointments on hold till all results are out. By simply giving his time to one party, he can affect the overall outcome of the fiercely contested election as the crucial time between declaration of results and a party staking claim can make or break governments.
Congress puts Plan B into effect
In an overturn of expectations, the Congress was rejected by Karnataka, only to prompt the party to run to Rahul Gandhi's residence in Delhi. It was during this gathering that they have decided to make an urgent overture to Deve Gowda. Sources in the party said the Gandhis authorised senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad to phone Gowda with their offer, which said that his son HD Kumaraswamy could head a coalition government if the government got to choose his deputy. Gowda responded favourably to the offer.
Both, Kumaraswamy and BJP's Yeddyurappa were seen rushing to the Vajubhai Vala asking for the first shot at forming the government. The Congress' overture to JD(S) is a desperate attempt from stopping Modi from making a base in the state. Ahead of the election, the Congress was visibly hostile to a pact with Gowda. In fact, Rahul Gandhi had even chided him in February, calling him the “B-Team” of the BJP in an undercover arrangement with Modi's party. Back then, Gandhi and his Congress believed they had an upper hand in the campaign.
Karnataka has not re-elected an incumbent for almost three decades. Opinion polls had however, forecast a fractured result. The Congress adjusted itself to the political expediency by suggesting it would not insist that Siddaramaiah remain chief minister in the new government.
How the key constituencies performed
The CM faced an embarrassing loss as he had to let go of Chamundeshwari district by a whopping 32,000 votes to incumbent JD(S) MLA GT Deve Gowda. What was, a battle of prestige between Siddaramaiah and Gowda, saw the former suffer a stinging defeat. He however, received some solace when he won in Badami, defeating BJP “rising star” B Sreeramulu and ensured a significant victory for his son Yathindra from Varuna. JD(S) proved its mettle by holding onto the old Mysuru region and increasing their numbers “slightly” in north Karnataka districts. Party state president HD Kumaraswamy won both his seats of Ramanagara and Channapatna, surpassing his rivals Sreeramulu and Siddaramaiah from BJP and Congress who also contested from the two seats. Sreeramulu lost against Siddaramaiah in Badami, but won the Molkalmuru seat by 25,000 votes. Lingayat ministers proved to be some of the biggest losers, other than Siddaramaiah, of course.
Chamundeshwari
JD(S) leader GT Deve Gowda will return as MLA in the constituency as he won by 36,042 votes. As early trends favoured a win for him, he claimed that the people have “rejected” the CM. Party workers began celebrating outside Gowda's residence as the victory comes at a high price. As he had said earlier, “When you beat the sitting chief minister, it sends out a strong message.” All eyes were on Chamundeshwari from where Siddaramaiah was seeking re-election in a keenly-fought electoral battle. He was also contesting from Badami in Bagalkot.
The chief minister had earlier said he would win “easily” in the region. Previous election results are proof that the Congress has always had a consistent vote share of around 35-38 per cent in the constituency.
Varuna
The constituency witnessed a triangular contest between Siddaramaiah's son Yathindra, BJP's Thotadappa Basavaraju, and JD(S) party leader Abhishek S Manegar. Yathindra's victory by a margin of 58,616 votes helped the Siddaramaiah family retain the seat for the third time, after 2008 and 2013. Yathindra had recently said that the people of his constituency were happy with the Congress government and its developmental works.
A state Assembly constituency in Mysore district and southern Karnataka region of the state, Varuna was touted to be a contest between the first sons of Karnataka politics, Yathindra, and Yeddyurappa's Vijendra. However, the BJP's sudden decision not to field Vijay put the big showdown on a backlog. The Indian National Congress (INC) had won the seat in 2013 with a margin of 29,641 votes (18.45 per cent) securing 52.53 per cent of the total votes polled.
Shikaripura
In an impressive victory, Yeddyurappa won Shikaripura by an impressive margin, as he defeated Congress' Goni Malatesha. He was “100 per cent” sure of forming the next Karnataka government after 2008. Yeddyurappa has been contesting from Shikaripura in Shivamoga district since 1983, having lost only once. He won the seat in 2013 as well, by 69,126 votes, against Congress' HS Shanthaveerappagowda.
The constituency has a total of 1,84,956 voters, including general voters, NRI voters, and service voters. Amongst the general voters, 93,923 are male, 90,958 female, and 15 others. BJP won the seat in the 2013 elections, with a margin of 24,425 votes securing 49.89 per cent of the total votes polled. That year, the seat witnessed a voter turnout of 80.24 per cent.
Badami
Badami saw a close race, as Siddaramaiah defeated BJP strongman B Sriramulu by a margin of 1696 votes. The CM had chosen the region as his second option at the last moment. Badami has a huge presence of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, Muslims, and other backward castes. It saw a close contest between the two leaders. JD (S) candidate Hanamant Mavinmarad stood no where close in the race with 24,004 votes.
