Yeddy keeps the lotus blooming

The Bharatiya Janata Party's lotus continues to bloom in Karnataka as it proved to be the only state in the south that could stop the march of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance.

The BJP bagged 19 of the state's 28 Lok Sabh seats while the Congress tally was six. In 2004, the BJP had won 18 and the Congress eight.

Former prime minister HD Deve Gowda of the Janata Dal (Secular) won from Hassan by the biggest margin in the state at 2,91,133 votes. His son Kumaraswamy won from Bangalore Rural, but the remaining three seats of Bangalore, all in the urban areas, were bagged by the BJP. The winners included former union minister Ananth Kumar, who registered his fifth consecutive win from Bangalore South.

Former Karnataka CM S Bangarappa of the Congress lost in Shimoga to BY Raghavendra, son of the state's chief minister, BS Yeddyurappa. Led by Yeddyurappa, the BJP fought the polls on the issue of Yeddyurappa's populist budget programmes like free power for farmers, Rs1 lakh insurance scheme for girl child born in poor families, free cycles for students, and development works in Bangalore. 

Yeddyurappa's carefully cultivated pro-Lingayat image played a role, helping the party in northern Karnataka and Bangalore. In contrast, the Congress failed to project BJP as a communal and corrupt party in light of the attacks on churches and pubs. KPCC president RV Deshpande said the party would introspect on its defeat.