The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) suffered a humiliating defeat in Karnataka assembly elections 2013 with the Congress bouncing back convincingly after seven years, winning 121 out of the total 223 poll results declared on Tuesday.
The Congress has well passed the majority mark of 113 in the 224-member Assembly. The polling of the Periyapatna assembly segment in Mysore district has been postponed to 28 May due to the demise of BJP candidate Sannamoge Gowda on 29 April.
The BJP, which won 110 seats in the previous elections, managed to win only 40 seats this time. Janata Dal-Secular tied with the BJP in the second spot with 40 seats, former BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa's newly formed party Karnataka Janata Party (KJP) won six seats, while others won 16.
Political pundits had earlier predicted that Congress would sweep the state assembly elections arguing that former chief minister Yeddyurappa's exit had weakened the BJP. Moreover, the ruling party was hit by several internal problems and corruption scams.
BJP leaders have admitted that factionalism within the party and exit of Yeddyurappa has led to the downfall of the party in the state.
"There were many factors responsible for our defeat and Yeddyurappa's departure is one," former Karnataka chief minister Jagadish Shettar told media persons after BJP's poor show.
"BJP whole heartedly accepts the defeat. The reason was our internal problems. We couldn't solve the problems at the right time," said senior leader M. Venkaiah Naidu.
"This accidental fluke victory of the Congress is because of the split in BJP votes," said BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad.
Here is Karnataka Election Results 2013 Complete Tally:
|
|
BJP |
JD(S) |
KJP |
Others |
|
121 |
40 |
40 |
6 |
16 |
