Karnataka Maintains Track Record of Voting Incumbent Out of Power

Karnataka has not voted an incumbent government back to power in the last three decades.

(Photo: The Quint)

The results in Karnataka seem to live up to the reputation that the state’s electorate votes out the incumbent government every election, says The Quint’s editor-in-chief Raghav Bahl, as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) looks set to return to power in the state. The party is on its way to form the next government after the state witnessed heavy voter turnout at the recently-concluded Assembly elections.

Karnataka has not voted an incumbent government back to power in the last three decades.

Scattered Vote Share

Bahl says though the Congress may emerge as the single-largest party in terms of vote share, its votes are spread out as opposed to the BJP and the Janata Dal (Secular)’s concentrated vote share.

Click here for all the live updates on Karnataka Assembly election results.

Kudos to the fact that the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) campaigned with such vigour and managed to get the BJP back to power.

Raghav Bahl

He further says the JD(S) sprung a surprise with a good show. The party is leading in more than 35 seats.

Whoever Wins Karnataka Loses Lok Sabha?

In the US, there is a saying that whoever wins Ohio, wins America; in India, the popular saying goes “the one who wins Karnataka, loses India.”

But, Bahl says, the chain is likely to break in the 2019 general elections since “PM Modi is a campaigner that India has not seen in a long, long time.”