The Indian National Congress won back power in Karnataka outright, as the outgoing Bharatiya Janata Party came apart from within.

It won 122 of the state's 224 seats.

That left it 9 seats clear of a majority.

The Janata Dal (Secular) finished second with 40 seats.

The vote itself was closer: the INC took 36.6% of the vote to the JD(S)'s 20.2%.

Sriramulu, a BJP minister and MLA from Bellary Rural, resigned his cabinet post and assembly seat in September 2011. He went on to found a new regional party, the Badavara Shramikara Raitara Congress, which contested the 2013 election.¹

Former Chief Minister Yeddyurappa, who had also quit the BJP, launched his own party, the Karnataka Janata Paksha, at a convention in Haveri on 9 December 2012. Thousands of people attended, alongside several sitting BJP legislators.²

The Karnataka High Court ruled on 16 April 2013 that the Election Commission's transfer of IAS officers serving as Deputy Commissioners for the vote counted as a valid deputation, not an unlawful transfer.³

The Election Commission held the vote in a single phase on 5 May 2013, covering 223 of the 224 constituencies. Polling in Piriyapatna was pushed back to 28 May 2013 after the BJP's candidate, Sannamogegowda, died a day before voting there.⁴⁵

BJP's own support splintered before voters went to the polls, as two of its own former leaders launched rival parties.

KJP and BSRCP each won seats for the first time, drawing votes from the party its founders had left.

The clearest movement of votes ran from BJP to INC, accounting for 58 of the 126 seats that changed hands.

It was a collapse for BJP, whose single term in office ended here.

The closest race was at Hagaribommanahalli, Karnataka, decided by a margin — how far ahead the winner finished, in votes, over whoever came second — of 125 votes.

Arabhavi, Karnataka was won by 51.8% of the vote, the widest margin anywhere in the state that year.

Turnout — the share of registered voters who actually cast a ballot — was highest at Hosakote, Karnataka, where 91.0% of registered voters turned out.

It was lowest at Gulbarga Uttar, Karnataka, where 50.2% of registered voters cast a ballot.

Bangalore South, Karnataka had the largest electorate, with 4,47,562 registered voters.

Bellary City, Karnataka drew the most crowded ballot, with 29 candidates standing.

The BJP's only government in Karnataka to date began in 2008, when Chief Minister Yediyurappa was sworn in after his party's 110 of 224 seats fell short of a majority — its first-ever government anywhere in south India, formed with the support of independent legislators. That term ended with this election, as the INC won back power outright.⁶