It's a whitewash for the BJP in Karnataka's coastal districts -- Dakshina Kannada, home to Mangalore, and Udupi. In Dakshina Kannada, the BJP lost all the eight Assembly segments to the Congress and in Udupi, it won just a single seat out of five. In 2008, the BJP had won eight of the 13 seats from these two districts, which the party has firmly established as its strongholds for the past decade.
Some observers say that this might be partly due to the ugly instances of moral policing that involved fringe outfits like the Hindu Jagran Vedike and the Sri Ram Sene - the BJP was accused of being soft in dealing with them. These groups have targetted women in particular over the past few years, beating them up in pubs and barging into private parties and roughing up students in the name of protecting 'Indian culture'. Coastal Kannadigas might just have sent out a message that such intolerance will no longer be tolerated.
Meanwhile, the BJP has lost substantially in its other strongholds as well - urban Bangalore and Belgaum.
Interestingly, these are the three areas where the BJP's poster boy,
Narendra Modi, campaigned. Reportedly, they were chosen because they were considered safe bastions -- Mr Modi was reportedly not very enthusiastic about pitching for votes on the BJP's behalf given that the elections seemed to be a lost cause. His campaign was short and came only in the last phase of electioneering.
Today, the Congress lost no time in pointing out that the 'Modi magic' did not work in Karnataka, not even in Bangalore where Mr Modi's development agenda was expected to resonate among the urban youth and professionals.
K Siddaramaiah, the Congress' front-runner for Chief Minister quipped, "What Modi magic, Modi has no magic." Union minister Kapil Sibal too took a swipe at the Gujarat Chief Minister, saying, "Narendra Modi is a unique institution... He's a hero made by himself and the public showed that he is zero."
However, the BJP brushed off suggestions that Mr Modi did not strike a chord in the only southern state the party has ever held. Senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu said, "You cannot the attribute the outcome of this election to Narendra Modi."
In any case, it is now time for retreat and reflection for the BJP in Karnataka.