Congress Sweeps Karnataka Polls

Congress won 135 seats pushing the BJP out of power in the only southern state it ruled

Ritesh K Srivastava
May 15, 2023

BJP Loses Its Southern Citadel

BJP managed to win just 66 seats while the Janata Dal-Secular bagged 19 seats

Failure To Woo Vokkaligas

JDS retaining its core base with the Vokkaligas and Congress victory shows BJP failed to break the caste conundrum in the state

BJP's Losing Its Grip On Lingayats

BJP seems to have lost much of its clout over its traditional voter base, especially among the Lingayats, after BSY's exit in 2021

Absence Of Second-Rung Leaders

While Congress fought the elections with unity, the absence of a credible state leadership dented the BJP’s poll prospects in Karnataka

Over-Reliance On PM Modi

BJP's Karnataka campaign gathered pace only after PM Modi kicked off his campaign to catapult the party into the pole position

Infighting & Faulty Ticket Distribution

The defection of several top Karnataka BJP leaders to Congress ahead of polls also played a role in the party's defeat

Development Vs Corruption

BJP failed to effectively counter Congress' narrative against “corrupt” and “40% Commission govt''

Failure Of Hindutva Card

From development, BJP's Karnataka campaign soon centred around the Hindutva plank after the Congress poll promise to ban Bajrang Dal

BSY Vs Bommai

BSY's exit months ahead of polls did not augur well for BJP. Despite his clean image, CM Bommai failed to emerge as a crowd puller

Local Vs National Issues

The ruling BJP failed to understand the voters’ mind that there is a huge difference between national and local issues

Message For PM

The Karnataka defeat is also a clear message for Modi to walk the talk of ‘Na Khaoonga, Na Khane Doonga’

No Dent In Modi's Popularity

Despite BJP's electoral debacle, election observers belive there is no decline in PM Modi's overall popularity

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