The Congress was poised to win power in Karnataka, ousting the BJP from its only southern perch on Saturday in a boost to the grand old party ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
As results from the May 10 elections made the BJP’s defeat increasingly apparent, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai virtually conceded defeat and said the party had not been able to make the mark “in spite of a lot of effort put in by everyone, including the prime minister and workers of the party".
The Congress was winning or leading in 136 of the 224 assembly seats in the state, comfortably over the magic number of 113, and the BJP in 64, according to the latest trends on the Election Commission website. The JD-S, which was hoping to be the kingmaker, was leading in 20 seats.