Karnataka Lok Sabha Elections 2024: BJP Sees Decline In Vote Percentage By 5.32% Points, Congress Registers Increase Of 13.55%

Bengaluru: The vote percentage of the BJP has declined by 5.32 percentage points in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls vis-a-vis 2019 elections despite being in alliance with the Janata Dal (Secular). The Congress on the other hand marginally improved its vote percentage this time compared to the previous poll where it contested in alliance with the JD(S).

Congress' vote share, however, improved drastically from 31.88 (even after being in alliance with the JDS) in 2019 to 45.43 this time an increase of 13.55 percent. The party won nine seats this time compared to just one in 2019.

The BJP contested the 2019 elections on its own and fielded 27 candidates while supporting an independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh in Mandya. As per the official data taken from the ECI’s website, the BJP secured 51.38% of the total votes polled.

BJP Enters Into A Pre-Poll Alliance With JD(S)

This time the BJP entered into a pre-poll alliance with the JD(S) contesting 25 of the 28 seats while three seats - Mandya, Kolar (SC), and Hassan - were given to the latter. The BJP's vote percentage in this Lok Sabha, however, declined despite almost complete transfer of JD(S) votes in its stronghold in at least seven Parliament seats.

Compared to 51.38% votes in 2019, the BJP got 46.06% votes, a decline of 5.32 percentage points. On the other hand, the JD(S) too witnessed a sharp decline in its voting percentage as it contested just three seats this year (5.60%) compared to six seats (9.67%) in 2019 when it was in alliance with the Congress. Even the combined vote share of the BJP and the JD(S) this time is just 56.66 percent. This indicates clearly that the BJP could have lost at least six to seven seats had it not been in alliance with the JD(S).