Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Will Prajwal Revanna sex scandal impact BJP- JD(S) poll prospects in Karnataka?

Fourteen parliamentary seats of Karnataka are among 94 constituencies going to polls nationwide in the third phase ofon May 7. Karnataka sends 28 members to the Lok Sabha. Fourteen seats of the state voted in the second phase on April 26.

Karnataka is crucial for the (BJP), the Congress, and the regional player Janata Dal (Secular). 

For the BJP, the contest in the state matters, as it’s the only state in the South where it has gained a dominant presence after winning 25 of the 28 seats in 2019 Lok Sabha elections. It is also key for the BJP’s ‘Mission South’, as the party has failed to make inroads in southern states other than Karnataka and Telangana. 

Karnataka is also pivotal for a surging Congress, especially after the grand old party registered a victory by bagging 135 of 224 seats in the last year.  

The 14 seats in north Karnataka voting on May 7 include Chikkodi, Belgaum, Bagalkot, Bijapur, Gulbarga, Raichur, Bidar, Koppal, Bellary, Haveri, Dharwad, Uttara Kannada, Davangere and Shimoga

And for the , the biggest ‘loser’ in 2023 state polls, the stakes remain even higher considering the party’s ‘existential’ crisis.  The stakes are high for the BJP ally considering its dismal performance in last year's . JD (S) won just 19 seats. Perhaps the party has allied with BJP to gain the lost ground in the state.  

The three Lok Sabha seats that the JD(S) is contesting as part of its alliance went to the polls in the phase 3 on April 26. Among these was the Hassan seat, which JD(S) leader , facing sexual abuse allegations, won in 2019. In fact, Hassan was the only Lok Sabha seat that the JD(S) won in 2019 general elections. However, the JD (S) was in alliance with the Congress party in 2019.

“The next round of elections