Mangalore, May 09: Karnataka’s voters delivered a clear victory for the congress, routed out the first-ever BJP government in the south, which was rocked by corruption charges, sex scandals and anarchy.
The victory is a morale booster for the congress ahead of the 2014 Lok sabha polls. The party got 121 seats, with the BJP losing a whopping 70.The BJP and the JDS shared jointly the second place with 40 seats each of the 223 seats that went to the polls on May 5, 2013 Sunday.
Election to one constituency, periyapatna will be held on May 24, as they were countermanded following the sudden death of BJP candidate.
The congress managed to get 121 seats crossing the cut-off 113 seats to form the government despite poor choices of candidates, allegation of sale of tickets, the battered image of the UPA government at the centre and corruption charges against some union ministers.
As per one of the senior leaders opinion the performance of the party is very poor because it should have got more than 150 seats, given the extent of anti-incumbency against the BJP.The poor leadership at the state level,a lack of good campaigning and terrible selection of candidates hurt the congress prospects”.
Still, the anti-BJP wave was so strong that the congress decimated the saffron party in its strongholds of North Karnataka and the coastal belt.In North Karnataka, where the BJP had won 65 seats out of 96 in 2008, the Lingayats appear to have deserted the BJP, despite their community man Jagadish Shettar being projected as the CM candidate.
Moral policing and frequent communal dissensions appear to have ejected the BJP from the coast. It managed to win just two of the thirteen seats.
Source: EN
