Four months ago, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal (Secular) slumped to humiliating defeats in the Karnataka election. The BJP won just 66 seats and was ousted from power and the JDS was left, many thought, on the brink of irrelevance after winning only 19. The Congress claimed a thumping, and unexpected, win with 135 seats.
The 2024 Lok Sabha election in Karnataka now becomes crucial for both the BJP and the JDS, who have announced a pre-poll alliance but have not yet revealed seat-sharing details.