Key takeaways from Karnataka election result 2023

The Congress was striding forward with leads in 117 seats, while the BJP was ahead in 75 in Karnataka

The Congress put forth an impressive performance in the Karnataka Assembly election 2023 as it won by a thumping majority, bagging 135 of the 224 seats.

Congress got a much-needed boost in the arm to posit itself as the main Opposition against the BJP which only managed 66 seats. While the saffron party has its eye firmly on coming back to power in the Centre and other states in subsequent polls, loss in Karnataka indicates its exit from South India completely for now.

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Here are the key takeaways from the Karnataka election results 2023:

> Impressive performance by Congress

The Congress is poised to form the government in Karnataka in an election that saw the BJP failing to put up a fight despite deploying the weight of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign in the state. The party looks to be set to go beyond 120 seats, far ahead of the BJP that could nosedive to below 70 seats and JD(S) struggling at 25.

Also Read — Karnataka Assembly election result: Congress winning big against BJP’s debacle

The impressive performance by the Congress is credited to an unusually united fight for the party’s standards, its concentration on local issues, and the last minute off-script moves like calling for banning Bajrang Dal and a meticulous campaign reaching out to households.

Heavy anti-incumbency, fueled by the BJP’s perceived bad performance and anger among the poor, also propelled the Congress towards a thumping victory in the state that will send out a big signal for the road ahead.

> Massive lead margins

Opposition leader Siddaramaiah, Karnataka Congress President D K Shivakumar, Laxman Savadi, Satish Jarkiholi and others were leading by a huge margin in their respective constituencies.

Also Read — Ahead by 30K+ votes: No contest for Congress in 6 seats

At 1:45 pm, Siddaramaiah was leading by a massive margin of over 30,000 votes against BJP's V Somanna, while D K Shivakumar was ahead by a margin of over 76,000 votes against JD(S) candidate B Nagaraju in Kanakapura. Meanwhile, Laxman Savadi, contesting from Athani constituency, was leading by a margin of 55,851 votes and Jarkiholi was leading in Yemkanmardi by over 56,053 votes.

Also Read — What guaranteed Cong's impressive performance in Karnataka

> 'I'm unstoppable. I'm a Porsche with no brakes'

Bursting crackers, distributing sweets and carrying Congress flags, scores of workers, including several leaders were seen at the party headquarters celebrating the election result trends.

Congress also tweeted a video of Rahul Gandhi during his Bharat Jodo Yatra with the song 'Unstoppable' by Sia playing in the background.

"I'm unstoppable. I'm a Porsche with no brakes. I'm invincible. Yeah, I win every single game. I'm so powerful. I don't need batteries to play. I'm so confident. Yeah, I'm unstoppable today," the lyrics of the song were played in the video.

> BJP concedes defeat

The BJP has not been able to make the mark, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Saturday as the Congress was striding towards victory in the state Assembly elections.

"We have not been able to make the mark, in spite of a lot of effort put in by everyone, including the prime minister (Narendra Modi) and workers of the party," Bommai said.

Also Read — Mallikarjun Kharge shines in Congress victory in Karnataka

> BJP's gamble fails

The ruling BJP's gamble of fielding Karnataka Minister for Housing V Somanna from two constituencies has appeared to fail as he lost in Chamarajanagar, while he was trailing by over 30,000 votes in Varuna.

In Chamarajanagar seat, where it was considered to be a cakewalk for Somanna, the opposition Congress candidate Puttaranga Setty won by a margin of 7,533 votes.