Despite resentment over poor infra, floods, potholes, BJP manages to increase seat share to 15 from 11 in 2018. Congress's Dinesh Gundu Rao retains Gandhi Nagar by wafer thin margin.
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.
Nikhil lost to the Congress's H.A. Iqbal Hussain by 10,715 votes.. His previous poll outing — in 2019 Lok Sabha elections — had ended in defeat as well.
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.
Reddy, who floated a new party in December last year after fallout with the BJP, defeated his nearest rival, the Congress’s Iqbal Ansari, by a margin of 8,266 votes.
Bangarappa’s sons Kumar and Madhu were pitted against one another from Sorab, with latter winning with 98,912 votes. In Holenarasipur, Deve Gowda's son Revanna won with 88,103 votes.
Ex CM Jagadish Shettar lost Hubli-Dharwad (central) seat to BJP candidate Mahesh Tenginkai by 34,289 votes, while Laxman Savadi won in Athani by 76,122 votes over BJP’s Mahesh Kumathalli.
A theme has not yet emerged for BJP & people see lack of a contest, which makes it unexciting. For all these reasons, 2024 is turning out to be an unexpectedly theme-less election.
COMMENTS