Election result 2014: Karnataka bucked the trend this time

The Narendra Modi wave has reversed past trends in Karnataka. This time, the state's electorate has echoed the national sentiment.
In the past, the state's voting pattern didn't reflect the national sentiment. When the nation favoured the BJP in 1999, the state electorate sided with the Congress. In 2004 and 2009, when the country voted for Congress, the state's citizens stood by the BJP.Even after the Emergency, when the entire nation voted against Indira Gandhi, Karnataka was an exception.
The Congress expected the state's electorate to continue the trend this time too. They had reason to believe that people would do so, for the Congress was voted to power in the assembly just a year ago. Political analysts say the state's voters distinguish between the assembly and the Parliament and vote differently.
However, the state's citizens have continued to vote decisively. The past elections clearly reflect that the state's citizens vote decisively and favour one party. In the past six elections since 1991, the electorate has favoured a single party for the national role. Of the 28 LS seats, a single party has won 16 or more seats.
In 1991, Congress secured 23 seats, while in 1996, Janata Dal garnered 16 seats, which helped HD Deve Gowda become the Prime Minister. In 1998, it was the BJP and Lok Shakti combine, which took 16 seats and a year later, in 1999, the Congress bounced back with 18 seats. However, in the past two LS polls, 2004 and 2009, the state has seen the domination of the BJP, which secured 18 and 19 seats respectively. This time too, with the election of 17 BJP MPs, the trend has continued.
Karnataka hasn't favoured regional parties or newbies in the LS polls. Prior to the emergence of the Janata Party and BJP, the main rival for the Congress were Swatantra Party and Socialist Party. Though the KCP, JD(S) and JD(U) have bagged a few seats in the past, the overall performance is far from impressive. The JD(S) could win only two seats, while AAP, which contested all the seats, drew a blank.