BJP decimated in Karnataka Assembly elections

BANGALORE: BJP today suffered a humiliating defeat in the Karnataka Assembly elections as Congress appeared to be well on its way to wresting power on its own after a gap of seven years.

Hit by the exit of former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and the image of corruption during its tenure in the first government in the south.

The party has won three seats and leading in just 36 seats in the 224-member Assembly. JD(S) and BJP were involved in a close race to wrest the main opposition status.

Riding the anti-incumbency wave, Congress wrested its old southern fort by putting up an impressive show and touched the half-way mark of 113. The party has won 14 seats and was leading in 99.

The JD(S) led by H D Deve Gowda won three seats and was ahead in 42 seats.

The SP is leading on one seat while 'Others' have won five seats and leading in 18.

The fledgling Karnataka Janata Party (KJP) floated by Yeddyurappa, who achieved his immediate task of damaging BJP, won one seat and could establish leads in only eight seats. Yeddyurappa won from Shikaripura by over 15,000 votes.

In the elections five years ago when BJP stormed to power for the first time in a southern state on its own, the party had won 110 seats against Congress' 80 and JD(S) 28.

In the 224-member house, 113 seats would be required for majority. Polling was held in 223 segments, with the one in Periyapatna in Mysore district put off to May 28 following death of BJP candidate.

Significantly, KJP has damaged the prospects of the BJP in many constituencies, eating into its votes.

BJP General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka, Dharmendra Pradhan maintained that despite the defeat, the party will stay firmly committed to its ideology and the fight against corruption.

"BJP accepts the people's verdict in Karnataka with humility and honours it. Initial analysis shows that we have incurred this loss in the elections due to the split in our votebase. The party had some inkling of this before the polls but it did not compromise on its principles and the fight against corruption," Pradhan said.

The party claimed that it had to pay a "political price" for being firm in its fight against corruption.

"Despite this defeat, BJP will continue to fight against corruption and for its ideology," Pradhan said.

The party also hit out at the Congress. "If Congress thinks the mandate in Karnataka is against corruption then it should prepare itself for a mandate against it in 2014," Pradhan said.

The BJP Parliamentary Board will meet this evening to discuss the poll results and the reasons for the party's rout in Karnataka.