'BJP is the preferred choice of Bengalureans,' says Tejasvi Surya as Congress wrests back Karnataka

The BJP may have lost Karnataka but it has managed to retain its hold in Bengaluru, the IT capital of India. Bengaluru and Coastal Karnataka are the only regions where the saffron party has surpassed Congress. In Bengaluru, the BJP bagged 16 of 28 seats while Congress, which swept the state, had to settle with just 12. The BJP won 12 of 19 seats in coastal Karnataka while Congress could win six and Janata Dal (Secular) 1.

Also read: 'Bommai didn't learn from Yogi, Himanta': Ex-CEA K Subramanian decodes BJP's defeat in Karnataka

Highlighting this achievement, BJP MP from Bangalore South Tejasvi Surya said he was grateful to the people of Bengaluru for blessing the party in large numbers despite setbacks in other regions. "We won 16 of 28 seats here, clearing indicating that BJP is the preferred choice of Bengalureans," he said. "This shows that the people of Bengaluru have appreciated our contribution to the growth of the city. We'll continue to highlight important issues & contribute to the overall development of our beautiful city."

Adarsh E Devaraj, a Twitter user, suggested that BJP would have lost the city if more people had come out to vote. The voter turnout in the city was a little over 50 per cent while the state recorded the highest turnout of over 73 per cent. "54% voted in Bangalore...if it was 70% the tornado would have blown you away from Bengaluru as well...By staying away from voting, don't know why we waste our right to select the right leader to decide our fate! This is how wrong people [leaders who open exit doors by mistake] end up deciding our future!" he said.

However, Charan Simha Reddy, who describes himself as an Isha volunteer, said he did not agree with Adarsh. He said if the people of Bangalore had an opinion of throwing out the BJP candidates, the voting percentage could have touched at least 65 per cent. "Those people who haven't voted are not concerned about the government."

In Bengaluru Urban, the BJP's performance was even better as it bagged five of seven The BJP also won Bengaluru's Jayanagar seat after late-night drama following the recounting of postal ballot votes. BJP's IT Cell head Amit Malviya said that BJP won the prestigious Jayanagar seat despite DK Shivkumar and Ramalinga Reddy camping and "intimidating the EC officials". "Soumya Reddy defeated. It was always a BJP seat, nurtured by the late B N Vijaykumar," he said.

The EC on Saturday ordered the recounting of postal ballots on an appeal by BJP candidate CK Ramamurthy. However, the Congress leaders including DK Shivakumar protested the move as the grand old party candidate and sitting MLA Sowmya Reddy was leading by 294 votes. However, after the final recounting, BJP wrested the seat from Congress.

Also read: Karnataka Result 2023: BJP wins Bengaluru's 'prestigious' Jayanagar seat by 16 votes

Malviya also explained the BJP's performance in Old Mysuru, which was once the bastion of JD(S) but this time voted for Congress. Congress swept the region by winning 43 of 64 seats while JDS bagged 14 and BJP 5. Malviya said in the Old Mysore region, Janata Dal-Secular's vote share dropped 9 per cent - from 40 to 31 per cent, the Congress gained 6 per cent (up from 35 to 41 per cent), and BJP 4% per cent (now at 22 per cent from 18 earlier) but it is the Congress that added 11 seats from the region.

"The BJP on the other hand gained 6 per cent vote share in Bengaluru but was down 4 per cent in the Mumbai-Karnatak region. In all these regional variations the BJP held on to its 36 per cent vote share but still went down 39 seats," he said. In 2018, the BJP won 104 seats with 36.35 per cent votes.