Big gains for Congress in Karnataka seats where women voters outnumbered men

Of these 52 seats, Congress has won the most, 28 seats, while BJP won 18 seats, JD(S) 5 seats, and one seat went to Sarvodaya Karnataka Paksha.

The 2023 poll results across these seats contrast with the outcome of the last Assembly elections. In 2018, BJP had won the most — 29 seats — of these constituencies, while Congress and the JD(S) had bagged 14 and 9 seats, respectively.

Of the 28 seats won by the Congress, a maximum of 13 seats have come from South Karnataka, followed by six in Coastal, four in Central, three in Hyderabad Karnataka and two in Bangalore-Urban. The BJP won most of its 18 seats from Coastal region, followed by Bangalore-Urban (4), Central (3) and South Karnataka (1). The JD(S)’s 5 seats came from South (4) and Hyderabad Karnataka (1).

In all, the highest absolute gap between female and male turnout across the state was recorded in Byndoor constituency in the district of Udupi, where 97,961 female voters exercised their franchise against 85,517 men — a difference of 12,444 votes. In the Byndoor constituency, Gururaj Shetty Gantihole of BJP defeated Congress candidate K Gopal Poojary by a margin of 16,153 votes.

The 52 seats where the number of women voters was more than males are: Bantval, Bellary, Bellary City, Belthangady, Bhadravati, Bhatkal, Byndoor, Chamaraja, Chamarajanagar, Channapatna, Chikkaballapur, Chikmagalur, Chitradurga, Davanagere North, Gundlupet, Gurmitkal, Hassan, Hosakote, Kanakapura, Kapu, Karkal, Karwar, Krishnaraja, Krishnarajpet, Kundapura, Maddur, Madikeri, Mahalakshmi Layout, Malleshwaram, Mandya, Mangalore, Mangalore City North, Mangalore City South, Melukote, Moodabidri, Mudigere, Narasimharaja, Pulakeshinagar, Puttur, Rajarajeshwarinagar, Shanti Nagar, Shimoga, Shravanabelagola, Sringeri, Srirangapatna, Tiptur, Tirthahalli, Tumkur City, Udupi, Vijayanagara, Virajpet and Yeshvanthapura.

Overall, the male turnout has been higher than female turnout in the state. As per the Election Commission’s data, 1.96 crore male and 1.91 crore female casted their votes on May 10, with their turnout percentage recorded at 73.68 per cent and 72.70 per cent, respectively.