Bengaluru: The Congress made significant gains in most divisions in Karnataka, winning 135 out of the 224 seats in the Karnataka assembly elections. Moving beyond their traditional constituencies, the Congress made significant gains in Kittur-Karnataka, the central districts, and the Old Mysuru region, eating into the votes of both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S).
There were several upsets for the BJP and JD(S), while Congress leaders, big, small, and relatively unknown, emerged victorious riding the wave in which the latter got a thumping majority.
“We have not been able to make the mark in spite of a lot of efforts put in by everybody…right from our prime minister to our workers,” Basavaraj Bommai, the chief minister of Karnataka, said, hours before he resigned from office.
Since 1985, no government has been re-elected for a second term in Karnataka, and political analysts often cite demographic diversity and regional variations in voting as major reasons for this.
ThePrint takes a look at how different regions voted in the 2023 assembly elections.
Kalyana-Karnataka
Once called Hyderabad-Karnataka, the Kalyana-Karnataka region was historically part of Hyderabad State, ruled by the Nizams. Today, it has six districts — Bidar, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal, and Ballari.
The region, which includes some of the most backward districts in India, has high populations of Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Kurubas, Lingayats and Muslims.
In this election, the Congress secured 26 of the region’s 41 seats, up from 20 in 2018 and 24 in 2013. The BJP won just 10 seats, down from 17 last time and five in 2013, while the JD(S) won three seats, down from four in 2018 and five in 2013.
Gali Janardhana Reddy, the alleged kingpin of the illegal mining scam, won as an Independent from Gangavathi in Koppal even though his wife lost in Ballari city. Another Independent candidate, Latha Mallikarjuna, the daughter of former deputy chief minister MP Prakash, won from Harapanahalli.
The region’s large Dalit and tribal presence has ensured that the Congress gains from it despite divisions between SC (Left) and SC (Right), people aware of the developments told ThePrint.
The region also has a special constitutional status — Article 371J allows the governor to establish a separate development board for the Hyderabad-Karnataka region.
According to political scientist James Manor — emeritus professor of commonwealth studies at the School of Advanced Study, University of London, and an authority on Karnataka’s politics — the region is divided along class lines. The poor, regardless of which community they belong to, tend to side with the Congress, while the more prosperous tend to side with the BJP, Manor told ThePrint.
Also read: Class matters in Karnataka – Eedina’s pre-poll survey on voting patterns shows
Kittur-Karnataka
Formerly known as Mumbai-Karnataka, the Kittur-Karnataka region is the northernmost part of the state and shares a border with Maharashtra.
Made up of six districts — Belagavi, Hubballi-Dharwad, Bagalkote, Vijayapura, Gadag and Haveri — the region is home to many notable Lingayat leaders, including Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and former CM B.S. Yediyurrapa, and has a total of 30 seats.
Lingayats, a politically dominant caste in this region, are significant players in Karnataka politics. According to unofficial estimates, they account for 17 per cent of the state’s population, and 10 of the 23 chief ministers of Karnataka have been from the community.
Although considered a BJP stronghold primarily because of the Lingayat presence, the party has won 16 seats in this election, down from 30 in 2018. On the other hand, the Congress, which had won 17 seats in 2018, won 33 seats this time. The JD (S) halved its 2018 tally and won just a lone seat in Vijayapura.
Although Lingayats have largely supported the BJP since the 90s, the community has always sided with individual leaders from the region, regardless of party ideologies.
In 2018, the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government, in an effort to woo the Lingayats, accorded the community a minority religion status. While Lingayat groups hailed the move, they shifted their support back to the BJP when the party announced community strongman and former chief minister Yediyurappa as its chief ministerial candidate.
Yediyurappa’s removal as CM, denial of tickets to Jagadish Shettar and Lakshman Savadi, apprehensions about non-fulfilment of reservation-related demands among others appear to have gone against the BJP.
South Karnataka
All districts south of Chitradurga are considered part of South Karnataka, although it includes other subcategories such as Old Mysuru and Malnad. Bengaluru city, too, is in the south but is classified as a division of its own.
South Karnataka, with its 11 districts — Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru, Tumakuru, Hassan, Mandya, Mysuru, Kodagu, Ramanagara, Chamarajanagar, Chikballapura and Kolar — has a total of 73 seats.
Most of these, or at least over two-thirds, are dominated by Vokkaligas, and are considered the bastion of the JD(S).
Former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda-led JD(S) managed to win just 15 seats out of the total 73 in 11 districts in southern Karnataka, indicating the party’s loosening grip on its Vokkaliga support base and its failure to secure minority votes.
Under the leadership of D.K. Shivakumar, a Vokkaliga, the Congress seems to have capitalised on the loss of the JD(S). In the southern region of the state, which was once referred to as ‘Gowda land’, the Congress won 44 of 73 seats.
In 2023, the JD(S) secured just 15 seats, down from the 29 it won in 2018. The BJP won 10 seats, down from the 21 it won in 2018, and the Congress, which had also won 21 seats in 2018, bagged 39.
In addition, there were 2 Independents who won in 2018 as against 6 in 2013.
Central Karnataka
The Central Karnataka region consists of two districts — Davanagere, which is considered the midpoint between the state’s northern and southern districts, and Chitradurga.
Much like Kittur-Karnataka, this region, with a combined total of 13 seats, also has a high concentration of Lingayats.
In 2023, the BJP secured two seats, down from the 10 it won in 2018. On the other hand, the Congress won 11 seats, up from the three it won in the last election. Meanwhile, the JD(S) drew a blank.
The Congress was hoping to do well in this region as 91-year-old Lingayat leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa is from Davangere. Shivashankarappa, the president of the All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha, openly called for the defeat of the BJP for ‘insulting’ Yediyurappa, considered one of the tallest leaders of the Lingayat community.
Also Read: Rich Muslims, angry Hindus: Why coastal Karnataka and Kerala are hotbeds of violent politics
Coastal Karnataka
Often considered the state’s communal hotbed, the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada have shifted their voting patterns in the previous two elections.
This is often seen as the only region in the state where Hindutva, and not caste considerations, are a poll platform.
In 2018, the BJP bagged 16 out of the total 19 seats — 13 more than in 2013 — while the Congress was reduced to just three, down from 13 in 2013.
This election, the Congress’s manifesto ‘promise’ to ban organisations such as the Bajrang Dal, the youth wing of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and the already outlawed Popular Front of India (PFI) led to more polarisation in these parts.
The development also spurred the Bajrang Dal, whose activities were muted until then, to jump into election campaigning.
The BJP still managed to retain most of the seats in this region where Hindutva works as a platform. Pramod Muthalik, the controversial leader of the Sri Ram Sene, managed to secure just 4,508 votes as against 77,028 of BJP’s V. Sunil Kumar, also the state minister for energy, Kannada and culture and the sitting MLA.
Muthalik claimed the party hasn’t done enough for Hindutva despite gathering votes in its name.
Also in the fray was Congress candidate Muniyal Uday Kumar Shetty who got 72,426 votes.
In Dakshina Kannada’s communally sensitive Puttur, it was a three-way battle for Hindutva. Anil Kumar Puthila, a former BJP aspirant, split the votes of his parent outfit as he bagged 62,458 votes. Ashok Kumar Rai, another former BJP leader who joined the Congress when he was denied a ticket won with 66,607 votes while the BJP’s Asha Thimappa, a former Dakshina Kannada zilla panchayat president, got just 37,558 votes.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)