Contrary to popular projections for the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP got 19 out of the 28 seats in Karnataka, adding one more seat to its 2004 tally.

The Congress dropped two seats over 2004 and finished with six while the Janata Dal (Secular) gained one seat to finish with a total of three. Despite thumping victories for H D Deve Gowda in Hassan—a 2.9 lakh margin that is the highest in these polls for Karnataka, and H D Kumaraswamy in Bangalore rural—with a 1.3 lakh margin, the JD(S) remained confined to the southern part of the state.

“The victory gives us more responsibility. In 2004 we won 18 seats but were reduced to 16 after Bangarappa quit and Veerappa’s death,” said Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa. The BJP gained complete control over the Bangalore region for the second time, bagging the three urban seats of North, South and Central. In Bangalore North former Congress minister D B Chandregowda who joined the BJP on the eve of the elections trumped veteran Congressman C K Jaffer Sharief by 59,650 votes. In the much watched battle for Bangalore South, senior BJP leader H N Ananth Kumar managed to hold onto the seat for the fifth successive time. Aviation entrepreneur Captain G R Gopinath who had attempted to galvanise urban voters lost his deposit while finishing fourth. Former police officer and former BJP MP from Bangalore H T Sangliana who switched to the Congress after voting in favor of the UPA government during the trust vote over the Indo US nuclear deal in July 2008, was defeated by the BJP’s P C Mohan in Bangalore Central.

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