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Journalism of Courage
WITH THE final data released on Thursday by the Election Commission, polling for the Karnataka Assembly elections held Wednesday stood at 73.19% – the highest in Karnataka since it was carved out when states were formed along linguistic lines in 1957.
The previous highest was in 2018, when 72.1% of the electors had exercised their franchise.
Polling percentage was higher among men than women, with 73.68% of men voting as compared to 72.7% of women. While 1.96 crore of the 2.66 crore eligible voters among men exercised their franchise, 1.91 crore of the 2.63 crore women voters cast their votes.
Of the total eligible voters in the state of 5.30 crore, 3.88 crore cast their vote on May 10.
The 11 constituencies which saw the least polling were all in Bengaluru Urban district. Bommanhalli had the lowest turnout (47.22%), followed by Dasarahalli (48.07%) and C V Raman Nagar (49.07%).
Hosakote constituency in Bengaluru Rural district had the highest voter turnout, with 90.33% polling, followed by Srinivaspur (Kolar district) at 89.56% and Melukote (Mandya district) with 89.50%.
The lowest-ever turnout in Karnataka (then known as Mysore State) was in 1957, its first Assembly election, when 51.3% of the voters exercised their ballot. The number of eligible voters then was 1.25 crore.
The Congress won that year, winning 150 of the 208 seats, with S Nijalingappa elected Chief Minister.
In the 2018 polls, which saw the second highest polling percentage in Karnataka’s electoral history, the BJP had emerged as the single-largest party, bagging 104 seats.
The Congress, the incumbent ruling party, which had won 122 seats in 2013, was reduced to 80 seats, while the JD(S) got 37.
However, as regards percentage of votes secured, the Congress was ahead of the BJP, getting 38.14% compared to 36.35% for the BJP. The JD(S) got 18.3% of the votes.
In 2013, the ruling BJP had suffered a rout, largely attributed to former CM B S Yediyurappa having left the party and floated the Karnataka Janata Paksha. In an election where 72.1% of the voters cast their ballot, the BJP’s tally was reduced to 40 seats, down from 110 in 2008, with Yediyurappa’s party cutting into its votes in many seats, though winning only six constituencies.
The Congress won the 2013 elections, with 122 seats and a vote share of 54.46%. The JD(S) got 40 seats.
The 1978 polls, which saw the highest ever jump in voting share between two elections in Karnataka – rising from 61.57% to 71.90% — marked D Devraj Urs’s return as CM after becoming the first to complete a five-year term in the state and return to power. Urs was credited with weaving together a social alliance of Dalits, OBCs and minorities in the state (referred to as the AHINDA movement in Kannada).
The Congress won 149 seats in 1978, while the now defunct Janata Party won 59.
However, Urs developed differences with Indira Gandhi, quit the Congress and formed his own party soon after. In 1980, the Congress appointed Gundu Rao as CM.
The 71.90% voting in 1978 remained the highest in Karnataka for 40 years, till 2018’s 72.1%.
The elections held after 1978, in 1983, incidentally, saw the sharpest dip between two polls, with 65.67% casting their vote – a more than 6% fall. It was the first time polling percentage fell in the state from one election to the next.
That would happen twice again, between 1994 and 2004 (68.59% to 65.17%) and 2004 and 2008 (65.17% to 64.68%).
The 1983 elections saw the first non-Congress government come to power in Karnataka, with the Janata Party emerging as the single largest party. Ramakrishna Hegde formed the government with the help of the BJP and other parties.
The incumbent Congress government under Gundu Rao had became hugely unpopular, especially after the firing on farmers at Nargund and Navalgund protesting against betterment levy (tax charged for a land plot becoming “better”).
