Congress had to wait for six Vidhan Sabha elections and 34 years to reach the kind of tally it got in the 2023 Vidhan Sabha elections in Karnataka. “This is going to be the biggest victory for any party in Karnataka in 34 years by vote share and seat,” former psephologist and political activist Yogendra Yadav said even as the counting was on.
The last time it won more than those many seats was in 1989 when it won a whopping 178 seats, Janata Dal had 24 seats in its kitty then while Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was trying hard to find its feet south of the Vindhyas then. The saffron party had all four seats in Karnataka in 1989.
It may not be a landslide victory, but winning 61 per cent of the total seats and way past the halfway mark of 113 seats, now Congress does not even need any outside support. Many say, Bharat Jodo Yatra also may have contributed significantly to this result that favoured the Congress.
A welled-up DK Shivkumar after the elections said that “I had promised Sonia Gandhi and Mallikaarjun Kharge that we will win Karnataka.”
Now all eyes are on the two Congress camps of DK Shivakumar and former CM Sidaramaiah and who among the two will be the chief ministerial choice.
Dharmasenan, a keen watcher of South Indian affairs says, “The majority voted against the BJP and that basically means it was an anti-incumbency vote. Also, because Yediyurappa was sidelined and Bommai could not replace him as a mass leader that also resulted in BJP’s loss. And for the Congress, DK Shivakumar is the man who organised them under one umbrella.”
Which way various regions of Karnataka polled From Bengaluru, out of a total of 28 seats, Congress and BJP won 14 seats each.
From Central Karnataka, out of a total of 23 seats Congress won 14 seats while BJP won seven seats. Two seats went to Janata Dal (S) and Others won one seat.
From Old Mysuru out of 64 seats, Congress won 44 seats, the saffron party won four seats, JDS won 14 seats, and Others two.
From Mumbai-Karnataka, out of 50 seats, Congress won 33 seats, BJP won 16 seats, and JDS won one seat.
From Hyderabad-Karnataka, out of a total of 40 seats, Congress won 27 seats, BJP nine seats while JDS won three seats and Others one. Like from Bengaluru where BJP and Congress were neck and neck, the Coastal Karnataka is the only region from where BJP has fared better than the Congress winning 12 seats out of 19. From here Congress won six seats and JDS one.