scorecardresearch
Add as a preferred source on Google
Saturday, February 21, 2026
TopicKarnataka assembly election

Topic: Karnataka assembly election

If Karnataka votes in 2024 like it did in state polls, BJP-JD(S) can win 18 of 28 seats, Congress 10

Without alliance with JD(S), BJP would manage only 8 seats in Karnataka. ThePrint looks at vote share of parties in each assembly segment & extrapolates it for each Lok Sabha constituency.

Modi’s charisma & Hindutva not enough— Hindu Right press on Karnataka result

ThePrint’s round-up of how pro-Hindutva media covered and commented on news and topical issues over the last couple of weeks.

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah’s Cabinet gives ‘approval to Congress poll guarantees’ in 1st meeting

Siddaramaiah said assurances will be fulfilled irrespective of financial burden on state coffers. He also blamed previous BJP govt for bad finances of Karnataka and of the country.

First power, then pain: ‘Operation Lotus’ is boomeranging on BJP, and not just in Karnataka

BJP has often grabbed power by engineering defections from other parties, but side-effects include erosion of ideology, weakening morale, and corruption, party sources say.

SC collegium ‘rethinks’ resolution on elevation of lawyer who contested Karnataka polls

Nagendra Ramachandra Naik contested the election from Bhatkal and secured only 1,502 votes. His elevation has been recommended thrice by the SC collegium. 

Behind Congress’s Karnataka win, state chief, ‘organisation man’ & now ‘Vokkaliga face’ Shivakumar

With his approach based on 3 pillars — mass outreach, visible leadership & enthusiastic cadre — D. K. Shivakumar had kept up pressure on the BJP government consistently.

‘Rivalry’ in Gowda family, desertions weaken JD(S), party loses out even in seats dominated by Vokkaligas

While the party has won 19 seats in the 224-member Karnataka assembly, its tally in 11 Vokkaliga-dominated districts of south Karnataka, a traditional JD(S) support base, is just 15 of 73 seats.

Congress’ ‘love’ triumphed in Karnataka, Bajrang Bali’s ‘wrath’ falls on BJP

The best cartoons of the day, chosen by the editors at ThePrint.

‘Corruption’ tag, weak leadership, quota misfire — 5 reasons BJP lost South foothold Karnataka

Unlike other BJP-ruled states like Gujarat, Uttarakhand & UP, Karnataka was an exception as corruption became a major sticking point. Bommai govt faced strong anti-incumbency.

How Karnataka loss could set back BJP’s ‘southern push’ for 2024 Lok Sabha polls

BJP’s loss in Karnataka could make Mission Telangana harder, affect its bargaining power with Tamil Nadu partner AIADMK, and give momentum to regional leaders, experts say.

On Camera

Why legal provisions are necessary to curb the power of trade unions: MH Mody

The collusion between the new class of bureaucrats, politicians, businessmen and trade union bosses perpetuates itself partly because of the short-run benefits and partly because they see no way out of the system, wrote author MH Mody in 1980.

In the West, there’s anxiety. In India, optimism—Rishi Sunak says India poised to be leader in AI

On Wednesday, the former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was speaking in New Delhi at a Carnegie & Observer Research Foundation event on AI.

Embraer moves full throttle in pursuit of IAF contract, ties up with Hindalco after Adani

IAF is firming up plans to revamp airlift capabilities with medium transport aircraft that will be assembled in India & serve as its main workhorse. Embraer is leading contender as of now.

No country is ever fully sovereign. Cold War era taught India its real meaning

India’s fraught neighbourhood places multiple constraints on its strategic choices. It leaves no time to take a deep breath, lean back and reset.