Bangalore:
In 2008, Karnataka became the first southern state to be won by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Five years later, the party is fighting against all odds to retain power in the state. The Congress, which has been on the backfoot in New Delhi, led a belligerent campaign against the state government; among corruption and scandals, it also alleged instability - the state had three chief ministers in five years.
"We had promised stable government. I am sure the people of Karnataka have listened to us," Congress state chief Dr G Parameshwara told NDTV a day before the results.
Exit polls predict a hammering for the BJP, giving it only 48 seats. It suggests a sweeping win for the Congress with 120 seats in the 225-member assembly. In 2008, the BJP had won 110 seats.
Ahead of the elections, analysts had said among other factors, former Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa's exit from the BJP would adversely impact the party's chances. Mr Yeddyurappa, who headed the first BJP government in the state, had quit the party last year and formed the Karnataka Janata Party (KJP). During polling, he perhaps hurt the BJP most - dividing the votes of Mr Yeddyurappa's powerful Lingayat community, considered a BJP stronghold.
The BJP has already been handed a huge loss by the Congress in the state municipal polls in March. In a few hours from now, it will be clear if the BJP will suffer the same fate in the crucial assembly polls, which has been built-up as the semi-finals to the general elections in 2014.