Karnataka Results 2018: BJP holds on to Lingayat base, gains Dalit votes; women get 2% representation

While the results for the Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018 are out and the BJP is fighting with the Congress-JD(S) combine to stake claim to form the government, a report by Hindustan Times has highlighted how the parties fared across caste, urban-rural divide etc. 

Much like Andhra Pradesh has had Kammas and Reddys, Karnataka has been dominated over time by the Lingayats and Vokkaligas castes. Both are concentrated in different parts (Lingayats in the north, Vokkaligas in the south) and both communities traditionally get representation from all major parties, which reinforces their hold over politics. Despite Siddaramaiah's Lingayat gambit, BJP won lions share of seats where Lingayats are in dominance. 

A party-wise break-up of the caste data reveals a state of greater polarisation between those two communities and political parties. 65% of the Lingayat MLAs and only 20% of the Vokkaliga MLAs are with the BJP. The Congress and JD(S) together make up 35% of the Lingayat MLAs and 80% of the Vokkaliga MLAs.

To add to this, the dalit vote also went in favour of the BJP, which won 31 of the seats where they have significant influence. While the Congress won more i.e. 34, they were the biggest losers, as they lost 15 seats from the 49 they had won in 2013. The BJP, however, gained 22 seats from the nine they won in the previous assembly election.

 This election further confirms a past trend, which is that Karnataka is one of the worst states in India with regards to women representation. Only six women made it to the assembly, a figure similar to their representation in 2013. This is despite the fact that the Karnataka government was the first in the country to introduce 33% representation for women in panchayat. .

When it comes to the urban vote, the Congress lost 12 seats. In 2013, they won 40 seats, which came down to 32 in to 2018. The BJP greatly benefited from the urban voter in Karnataka and they won 20 more seats than the 15 they had won in 2013.