Bengaluru: The Congress made vital positive aspects in most divisions in Karnataka, successful 135 out of the 224 seats within the Karnataka meeting elections. Transferring past their conventional constituencies, the Congress made vital positive aspects in Kittur-Karnataka, the central districts, and the Outdated Mysuru area, consuming into the votes of each the Bharatiya Janata Get together (BJP) and the Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S).
There have been a number of upsets for the BJP and JD(S), whereas Congress leaders, huge, small, and comparatively unknown, emerged victorious driving the wave through which the latter bought a thumping majority.
“We have now not been in a position to make the mark despite lots of efforts put in by everyone…proper from our prime minister to our employees,” Basavaraj Bommai, the chief minister of Karnataka, stated, hours earlier than he resigned from workplace.
Since 1985, no authorities has been re-elected for a second time period in Karnataka, and political analysts usually cite demographic range and regional variations in voting as main causes for this.
ThePrint takes a take a look at how completely different areas voted within the 2023 meeting elections.
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Kalyana-Karnataka
As soon as referred to as Hyderabad-Karnataka, the Kalyana-Karnataka area was traditionally a part of Hyderabad State, dominated by the Nizams. As we speak, it has six districts — Bidar, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal, and Ballari.
The area, which incorporates a number of the most backward districts in India, has excessive populations of Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Kurubas, Lingayats and Muslims.
On this election, the Congress secured 26 of the area’s 41 seats, up from 20 in 2018 and 24 in 2013. The BJP received simply 10 seats, down from 17 final time and 5 in 2013, whereas the JD(S) received three seats, down from 4 in 2018 and 5 in 2013.
Gali Janardhana Reddy, the alleged kingpin of the unlawful mining rip-off, received as an Impartial from Gangavathi in Koppal though his spouse misplaced in Ballari metropolis. One other Impartial candidate, Latha Mallikarjuna, the daughter of former deputy chief minister MP Prakash, received from Harapanahalli.
The area’s massive Dalit and tribal presence has ensured that the Congress positive aspects from it regardless of divisions between SC (Left) and SC (Proper), individuals conscious of the developments informed ThePrint.
The area additionally has a particular constitutional standing — Article 371J permits the governor to determine a separate growth board for the Hyderabad-Karnataka area.
Based on political scientist James Manor — emeritus professor of commonwealth research on the College of Superior Examine, College of London, and an authority on Karnataka’s politics — the area is split alongside class strains. The poor, no matter which neighborhood they belong to, are inclined to aspect with the Congress, whereas the extra affluent are inclined to aspect with the BJP, Manor informed ThePrint.
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Kittur-Karnataka
Previously generally known as Mumbai-Karnataka, the Kittur-Karnataka area is the northernmost a part of the state and shares a border with Maharashtra.
Made up of six districts — Belagavi, Hubballi-Dharwad, Bagalkote, Vijayapura, Gadag and Haveri — the area is dwelling to many notable Lingayat leaders, together with Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and former CM B.S. Yediyurrapa, and has a complete of 30 seats.
Lingayats, a politically dominant caste on this area, are vital gamers in Karnataka politics. Based on unofficial estimates, they account for 17 per cent of the state’s inhabitants, and 10 of the 23 chief ministers of Karnataka have been from the neighborhood.
Though thought-about a BJP stronghold primarily due to the Lingayat presence, the social gathering has received 16 seats on this election, down from 30 in 2018. Then again, the Congress, which had received 17 seats in 2018, received 33 seats this time. The JD (S) halved its 2018 tally and received only a lone seat in Vijayapura.
Though Lingayats have largely supported the BJP for the reason that 90s, the neighborhood has at all times sided with particular person leaders from the area, no matter social gathering ideologies.
In 2018, the Siddaramaiah-led Congress authorities, in an effort to woo the Lingayats, accorded the neighborhood a minority faith standing. Whereas Lingayat teams hailed the transfer, they shifted their assist again to the BJP when the social gathering introduced neighborhood strongman and former chief minister Yediyurappa as its chief ministerial candidate.
Yediyurappa’s removing as CM, denial of tickets to Jagadish Shettar and Lakshman Savadi, apprehensions about non-fulfilment of reservation-related calls for amongst others seem to have gone in opposition to the BJP.
South Karnataka
All districts south of Chitradurga are thought-about a part of South Karnataka, though it consists of different subcategories reminiscent of Outdated Mysuru and Malnad. Bengaluru metropolis, too, is within the south however is assessed as a division of its personal.
South Karnataka, with its 11 districts — Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru, Tumakuru, Hassan, Mandya, Mysuru, Kodagu, Ramanagara, Chamarajanagar, Chikballapura and Kolar — has a complete of 73 seats.
Most of those, or a minimum of over two-thirds, are dominated by Vokkaligas, and are thought-about the bastion of the JD(S).
Former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda-led JD(S) managed to win simply 15 seats out of the overall 73 in 11 districts in southern Karnataka, indicating the social gathering’s loosening grip on its Vokkaliga assist base and its failure to safe minority votes.
Beneath the management of D.Okay. Shivakumar, a Vokkaliga, the Congress appears to have capitalised on the lack of the JD(S). Within the southern area of the state, which was as soon as known as ‘Gowda land’, the Congress received 44 of 73 seats.
In 2023, the JD(S) secured simply 15 seats, down from the 29 it received in 2018. The BJP received 10 seats, down from the 21 it received in 2018, and the Congress, which had additionally received 21 seats in 2018, bagged 39.
As well as, there have been 2 Independents who received in 2018 as in opposition to 6 in 2013.
Central Karnataka
The Central Karnataka area consists of two districts — Davanagere, which is taken into account the midpoint between the state’s northern and southern districts, and Chitradurga.
Very similar to Kittur-Karnataka, this area, with a mixed whole of 13 seats, additionally has a excessive focus of Lingayats.
In 2023, the BJP secured two seats, down from the ten it received in 2018. Then again, the Congress received 11 seats, up from the three it received within the final election. In the meantime, the JD(S) drew a clean.
The Congress hoped to do effectively on this area as 91-year-old Lingayat chief Shamanur Shivashankarappa is from Davangere. Shivashankarappa, the president of the All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha, overtly referred to as for the defeat of the BJP for ‘insulting’ Yediyurappa, thought-about one of many tallest leaders of the Lingayat neighborhood.
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Coastal Karnataka
Usually thought-about the state’s communal hotbed, the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada have shifted their voting patterns within the earlier two elections.
That is usually seen because the solely area within the state the place Hindutva, and never caste concerns, are a ballot platform.
In 2018, the BJP bagged 16 out of the overall 19 seats — 13 greater than in 2013 — whereas the Congress was diminished to only three, down from 13 in 2013.
This election, the Congress’s manifesto ‘promise’ to ban organisations reminiscent of the Bajrang Dal, the youth wing of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and the already outlawed In style Entrance of India (PFI) led to extra polarisation in these components.
The event additionally spurred the Bajrang Dal, whose actions had been muted till then, to leap into election campaigning.
The BJP nonetheless managed to retain many of the seats on this area the place Hindutva works as a platform. Pramod Muthalik, the controversial chief of the Sri Ram Sene, managed to safe simply 4,508 votes as in opposition to 77,028 of BJP’s V. Sunil Kumar, additionally the state minister for vitality, Kannada and tradition and the sitting MLA.
Muthalik claimed the social gathering hasn’t achieved sufficient for Hindutva regardless of gathering votes in its identify.
Additionally within the fray was Congress candidate Muniyal Uday Kumar Shetty who bought 72,426 votes.
In Dakshina Kannada’s communally delicate Puttur, it was a three-way battle for Hindutva. Anil Kumar Puthila, a former BJP aspirant, cut up the votes of his mum or dad outfit as he bagged 62,458 votes. Ashok Kumar Rai, one other former BJP chief who joined the Congress when he was denied a ticket received with 66,607 votes whereas the BJP’s Asha Thimappa, a former Dakshina Kannada zilla panchayat president, bought simply 37,558 votes.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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