Everything you need to know about Karnataka assembly elections 2023

The Karnataka Assembly election 2023 was a high-octane affair which many believed to be foretelling ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections. Congress, which managed to sweep the state bagging 135 seats has gotten a much-needed boost in the arm to posit itself as the main Opposition against BJP which only managed 66 seats but has its eye firmly on coming back to power in the Centre and other states in subsequent polls. However, the saffron party's loss has also meant its exit from South India completely for now. A day after the results, DH brings you all you need to know about the Karnataka Assembly Elections.

Where BJP, Congress, JD(S) and others stand - at a glance

CLP unanimously decides to leave selection of Karnataka CM to Kharge

The Congress Legislature Party on Sunday unanimously resolved to authorise AICC President M Mallikarjun Kharge to appoint the new CLP leader -- Chief Minister -- in Karnataka.

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Karnataka Assembly Election results: Congress' local campaign bulldozes BJP's national pitch

A “double-engine” promise. A polarising campaign based on its traditional Hindutva plank — this time propped up by a Hindi film and a Hindu god. And a gamble on 75 new faces... But nothing could save the BJP from a crushing defeat in Karnataka, the only state in South India where the party has a sizeable footprint.

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BJP's traditional Hindutva poll plank fails to strike a chord in Karnataka

A polarised campaign based on its traditional Hindutva plank with starring roles by a Bollywood film and a Hindu god, its promise to deliver a “double engine” government, and, a gamble on as many as 75 new faces did not stop the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from a crushing defeat in Karnataka, the only state in South India where the party has a sizeable footprint. In its defeat, the party has been stung by its lack of strong local faces or local issues as part of the campaign narrative, said leaders of the state unit.

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Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023: With just 19 seats, is it end of road for JD(S)?

With all its calculations going awry, the JD(S) has been relegated to 19 seats, making this its worst performance since its birth in 1999.

Some of the reasons attributed to the debacle include disputes within the party and the party supremo H D Deve Gowda’s family over tickets, replacing candidates overnight, party workers not being active on the ground and fielding turncoats in place of the party’s candidates.

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Party presence in Karnataka - a visual representation

Here's a comparison of the 2018 map and the map as of now.

Key takeaways from Karnataka election result 2023

The Congress put forth an impressive performance in the Karnataka Assembly election 2023 as it leaped ahead of the ruling BJP, according to Election Commission of India trends.

The Congress was striding forward with leads in 117 seats, while the BJP was ahead in 75 seats in Karnataka, according totrends, as votes were counted on Saturday for an election widely seen as a litmus test for both the parties ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

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The one that got away: BJP clinches Jayanagar cliffhanger by 16 votes; Congress mulls legal route

It was the cliffhanger election legends are made of. The BJP’s C K Ramamurthy beat Congress MLA Sowmya Reddy by a measly 16 votes to win the Jayanagar assembly seat at Saturday midnight after a long, tense counting of votes at SSRMV PU College.

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Bengaluru in focus: Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023: Congress, BJP maintain grip, JD(S) loses presence

Voters in the state capital remained largely unchanged about their party and candidate preferences as the results saw both the BJP and the Congress retaining most of the seats they had won five years ago.

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A new presence: Former mining baron Janardhana Reddy wins, his wife and two brothers lose in Karnataka polls

Former mining baron and ex-minister G Janardhana Reddy who had a few months ago floated his party -- Kalyana Rajya Pragathi Paksha (KRPP) -- won in Gangavathi while his wife, and two brothers who fought on BJP ticket lost in the Karnataka Assembly elections for which the results were announced on Saturday.

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Kharge: The leader who can boast of making south India ‘BJP mukt’ now

On May 10 when Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge went to vote, he walked into the polling booth in Basava Nagar for the 28th time in 55 years. Unlike previous times, his vote had an added weight of expectation as a victory in the state would add a feather to his cap.

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Whole lotta love: The endearing Congress photos from the Karnataka campaign that hit home

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra making crisp dosas at an eatery, Rahul Gandhi riding pillion on the scooty of a gig worker in Bengaluru and interacting with passengers after hopping on to a bus, were some of the endearing images from the Congress campaign that seemed to have captured the people's imagination.

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The Congress managed to take the lead right from the start

With early trends showing Congress headed for a victory, party workers began celebrations early on.

Here is a quick glimpse

...and in some seats there was no contest

The Congress emerged victorious in the 224-member Karnataka Assembly Elections, for which results were announced on Saturday.

Many constituencies saw a one-sided race with the Congress candidate's lead unassailable.

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Loss in Karnataka raises several questions for BJP

The BJP’s aggressive push for electoral gains in the South, a region where it is yet to prove its mettle, faced a significant hurdle on Saturday with its loss in its only government in the region. The loss of several sitting ministers, as well as an erosion in the key Lingayat plank has put the focus on the state unit’s infighting, and raised questions on the heft of its national leadership.

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Karnataka Assembly Elections: BJP fails to bag even one ST reserve seat

Notwithstanding the fact that the BJP increased the reservation of Scheduled Tribe communities from 3% to 7%, the party failed to bag even a single ST reserved seat in the Assembly elections. The party’s decision to float internal reservations among SC/ST communities hurt its chances of winning these seats, say experts.

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Lesson from Karnataka – respect states and India’s federalism

Regular readers know that this column extols federalism and argues that it is the bedrock on which our nation stands. The Karnataka election outcome has reaffirmed this idea and has shown yet again that the notion of ‘one nation, one thought’ is fundamentally flawed. The emphatic Congress victory is an outcome of the people of Karnataka rejecting the idea of one national leader, one national political party, one national issue, one national policy and so on. The BJP under Narendra Modi is an exemplar of that ‘one nation, one thought’ idea. Karnataka has given a resounding message that India is a federal union of states, not one homogeneous nation, and attempts to shove a national idea down their throats will be spat out.

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Bommai, Shivakumar and Muniyappa among key winners in Karnataka elections

Outgoing Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, state Congress President D K Shivakumar, and former Union Minister K H Muniyappa are among the key leaders who have been declared victorious by the Election Commission in the Karnataka Assembly polls for which counting of votes was taken up on Saturday.

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Karnataka Election Result: How BJP turncoats fared in Karnataka election 2023

Eight Congress turncoats who joined the BJP and helped it form the government in 2019lost in the May 10 Karnataka Assembly electionsfor which the results were announced on Saturday.

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Karnataka Assembly Elections: 13 ministers among bigwigs who bit the dust at hustings

Former chief minister Jagadish Shettar, who quit the BJP and joined Congress, was routed in his own bastion of Hubli-Dharwad (Central) by over 30,000 votes. As many as 13 sitting BJP ministers lost their seats.

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Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023: NOTA scores above JD(S), AAP, dwarfs margins

None of the above (NOTA) has once again gained the spotlight as it dwarfed the margin of victories in several constituencies and gained twice the number of votes compared to candidates from recognised parties, highlighting voter disenchantment.

Despite being in the last row of the electronic voting machine (EVM), NOTA got more support than many JD(S) and Aam Admi Party (AAP) candidates. Afzalpur led the state in NOTA votes with 4775 votes followed by Aland (4377), Anekal (4006) and Arabhavi (2996).

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Many leaders have seen BJP's loss as a sign of changing times, West Bengal's Mamata was no different

The Karnataka election verdict indicates the ‘beginning’ of the ‘end’ of the BJP's rule in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and the party may not secure 100 seats, then, Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee said on Saturday. Banerjee, in the build-up to Karnataka elections had asked people of the state to not to vote for the party.

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