Thanks to the Modi wave, the BJP managed to almost repeat its 2009 performance in Karnataka.
The State has always bucked the trend when it comes to the Lok Sabha elections, invariably going for the party that ends up as the Opposition. This time, though, it has voted in the BJP, which is going to rule the nation. In 2004 and 2009, the BJP had won 18 and nine seats respectively in Karnataka, but sat in the Opposition. In 1999, the Congress won 18 seats in the State, only to see the BJP winning the polls. What it goes to show is that voters in Karnataka have never been swayed by any national trend but this time the Modi wave was too strong for them to resist.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, whose Congress had won a majority in the Assembly last year, was expected to repeat the performance during the Lok Sabha elections as well. This did not materialise.