evidence: This also works at the sub-regional level, which is described below. The BJP gained votes in Bangalore and in Southern Karnataka, and lost votes everywhere else. Since it was already strong in Bangalore and weak in Southern Karnataka, these votes variations did not lead to seat gains. On the other hands, losses of votes in its Northern and Coastal strongholds, as well as in Central Karnataka, cost the BJP many seats. [...] The contrast of performances for the BJP are also clear. It lost half the seats it held in Bombay and Southern Karnataka, going from an 85% strike rate to a 68% strike rate in Coastal Karnataka, and lost most of its seats in Central Karnataka. It only gained seats in Bangalore, yet more that one should not look at the state capital to provide the state’s political weather. [...] What we see so far is that BJP suffered significant losses in its strongholds, in the Lingayat belt and in Coastal Karnataka, a region dominated by the Other Backward Classes where communal polarisation became more entrenched over the years. This is indicative of a backlash across two pillars of BJP strength: Lingayat politics and Hindutva.