Karnataka Election Results: JDS-Cong Forming Govt To BJP Wresting Power, What Happened After 2018 Polls

Karnataka Election Results: Just ahead of the much-awaited 2023 assembly election results of Karnataka, let us revisit what makes this election a must-watch.

Karnataka Assembly Election 2018 saw twists and turns. [Images: BS Yediyurappa (L), HD Kumaraswamy (C) and Siddaramaiah (R)]

Source : PTI

Karnataka Election Results: As anticipation builds for the Karnataka assembly election results 2023 and candidates in the fray wait to know the people's mandate, it is apt to revisit the sequence of what all happened after the counting of votes in 2018. While any election at any level is of pivotal importance in a democracy, the arithmetic combination after the last election that pushed the single largest party away from power and installed a short-lived coalition government only to see the latter falling apart within a few months makes this election more interesting to follow.

What Happened After Karnataka Assembly Election Results 2018   

Following the Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the single largest party with 104 seats, while the Congress secured 80 seats and the Janata Dal (Secular) [JD(S)] won 37 seats. Additionally, there was one independent member, while the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janatha Party (KPJP) each secured one seat.

During the 2018 elections, Congress garnered a vote share of 38.04 per cent, closely followed by the BJP with 36.22 per cent, and the JD(S) with 18.36 per cent.

With no party obtaining a clear majority, the Congress and the JD(S) engaged in negotiations to form an alliance. However, BS Yediyurappa of the BJP, being the leader of the single largest party, staked claim and formed his government. He, however, could not prove a majority and the government was dissolved within three days, prior to a trust vote.

Consequently, the Congress-JD(S) alliance assumed power with HD Kumaraswamy as the chief minister. However, the alliance encountered instability and collapsed after 14 months. The trigger was the resignation of 17 legislators from the ruling coalition, who subsequently defected to the BJP. This allowed the BJP to regain power, and Yediyurappa became the CM for the fourth time. 

In the subsequent bypolls held in 2019, the ruling party emerged victorious in 12 out of the 15 seats contested.

The following two years saw more action with Yediyurappa resigning on July 26, 2021, as his government completed two years in office. A tearful Yediyurappa announced his resignation citing "lack of people's trust", once again failing to complete his term. Though the Lingayat leader has been the CM four times, he has never been able to serve a full five-year term. Basavaraj Bommai was sworn in as his successor two days later.   

In the current assembly, the BJP holds 116 seats, followed by the Congress with 69 seats, JD(S) with 29 seats, BSP with one seat, and two independent members.

Additionally, there is one Speaker and six vacant seats due to the deaths and resignations of members who joined other parties ahead of the elections.

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