A tacit understanding between the Congress and the JD(S) to outmuscle the BJP in Karnataka did not translate into the expected number of seats for the two. It clearly failed to impede the march of BJP in 19 of the 28 seats in the state, leaving the Congress and JD(S) with only nine seats between them.

A close look at the results, however, does indicate that the BJP could have bagged a few more seats but for both the parties.

In northern Karnataka where the BJP virtually steamrolled the opposition, the Congress managed to win in two of the 10 constituencies, thanks to the support of JD(S) workers.

In Bidar, where former chief minister and veteran Congressman N Dharam Singh won, the Congress and the JD(S) worked together despite the latter also fielding a candidate from there. Dharam Singh defeated his nearest rival Gurupadappa Nagamarpalli of the BJP by a margin of 39,619 votes.

The JD(S) had officially announced support for Congress candidates in Bellary and Shimoga.

The BJP candidate from Bellary, J Shantha, scraped through with 2,243 more votes despite the might of the BJP’s mining lobby behind her. In Shimoga, despite more JD(S) flags being present at the time of the filing of the nominations of Congress candidate and former chief minister S Bangarappa, the BJP’s B Y Raghavendra, son of Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, romped home by a margin of 52,893 votes.

Through the election campaign and even prior to his surreptitious May-12 meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi, JD(S) working president H D Kumaraswamy has been seeking rewards for reaching the understanding with the Congress. It has now offered its three MPs to make up for the small number the Congress-led UPA needs to form the government.

... contd.