Bengaluru, 4 June

The BJP yielded ground to the Congress, as the ruling party in Karnataka is on course to boost its Lok Sabha seats tally to 10, as per the latest counting trends on Tuesday.

The BJP was ahead in 16 seats -- down from 25 in 2019 Lok Sabha elections -- while its NDA partner JD(S) is projected to win in two constituencies, according to Election Commission officials.

Having scored a thumping victory in the assembly elections, which witnessed a triangular fight between the Congress, the BJP and the JD(S) in May last year, the ruling party was determined to put up a strong show but seems to have fallen short of its expectations in the polls, in which the party was hoping to get at least 15 seats.

The Congress had banked heavily on the five guarantee schemes it had launched in the state. The grand old party had won a mere one seat out of the total 28 in the state in the 2019 general elections.

Karnataka is the most important State for the BJP in South India as it's only here that it had held power in the past.

After the loss in the assembly election last year, BJP had strived to improve its prospects in the Lok Sabha polls, leveraging the Modi factor and had set an ambitious task of repeating its 2019 Lok Sabha performance, when it had swept the polls.

The saffron party had then won 25 seats, and also had managed to ensure the victory of an independent backed by it. Many BJP leaders had even repeatedly claimed that the party would win all 28 seats.

For JD(S), this Lok Sabha election was considered to be crucial, after it registered its worst performance in over two decades in the 2023 Assembly polls in Karnataka, bagging only 19 seats.

So, in what is largely being seen as an "alliance of compulsion", the JD(S) with a hope to better its prospects had forged an alliance with BJP in the backdrop of the ruling Congress's alleged "onslaught" and attempts to weaken the party by wooing its leaders and legislators.

It was a role reversal of sorts for former prime minister H D Deve Gowda-led JD(S) in this election compared to 2019, as the party was running a coalition government with Congress back then and had fought the election together. It had then emerged victorious in one constituency -- Hassan.

Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, who is facing allegations of sexually abusing several women and also recording them, was trailing. He has already been suspended by the JD(S).

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani was leading in Gulbarga, after trailing earlier.

Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar's brother and MP D K Suresh was also trailing against eminent cardiologist and former PM H D Deve Gowda's son-in-law Dr C N Manjunath of BJP from Bangalore Rural. Interestingly, this was the only seat Congress had won in 2019.

Three former chief ministers -- H D Kumaraswamy of JD(S), and Basavaraj Bommai and Jagadish Shettar (both BJP) -- are leading in their Lok Sabha segments of Mandya, Haveri and Belgaum respectively.

Union ministers Pralhad Joshi and Shobha Karandlaje (BJP) were ahead in Dharwad and Bangalore North Lok Sabha segments, respectively, according to official sources, while another Union Minister Bhagwanth Khuba was trailing in Bidar.

Also leading were erstwhile Mysuru royal family scion Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar of BJP in Mysore, party veteran B S Yediyurappa's son B Y Raghavendra in Shimoga, and saffron party's youth wing chief Tejasvi Surya (Bangalore South).

Among those trailing are expelled BJP leader K S Eshwarappa and film star Shivrajkumar's wife Geetha Shivrajkumar of Congress in Shimoga.

Former Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri and Leader of Opposition in Legislative Council Kota Srinivas Poojary (BJP) have taken leads in Uttara Kannada and Udupi-Chikmagalur segments, respectively.

The Congress's performance in this election is being seen as a key test of sorts for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and its state unit chief Shivakumar, who is also the Deputy Chief Minister.

The opposition BJP and JD(S) leaders in the state have several times predicted the collapse of the government, hinting at a possible power tussle within the Congress, amid persistent rumours about leadership change in the ruling party in the state after Lok Sabha polls or mid-way of the current Assembly's tenure.

There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for the chief minister's post after the declaration of assembly election results in May last year, but the Congress leadership had managed to convince the latter and made him the deputy chief minister.

There were some reports at the time that a compromise had been reached based on a "rotational chief minister formula" according to which Shivakumar will become CM after two-and-half years but they have not been officially confirmed by the party.

Shivakumar has made no secret of his ambition to become chief minister, while Siddaramaiah had sought public support during the Lok Sabha polls so that the Congress wins maximum number of seats in the state, which would strengthen his position.

This election is also seen as a "litmus test" for BJP veteran B S Yediyurappa's son B Y Vijayendra, who was appointed president of the party's state unit in November last year. Ensuring a BJP sweep would have been key to consolidating his position and silencing critics who have questioned his selection for the post.