The 1996 Lok Sabha (Parliament) election in Karnataka was held to elect Members of Parliament (MPs) from 28 parliamentary constituencies in the state. Janata Dal emerged as the leading party, winning 16 seats. Bharatiya Janata Party came second with 6 seats.
A total of 31,810,069 electors were registered to vote across the state. Of these, 19,155,432 votes were polled, resulting in an overall voter turnout of 60.2%. The average victory margin across all constituencies was 46,582 votes, with the closest contest decided by just 2,454 votes and the largest margin reaching 159,413 votes.
A total of 4 political parties won at least one seat in this election. India's Lok Sabha elections use the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) system, where the candidate with the most votes in each constituency wins the seat. The party or coalition winning a majority of Lok Sabha seats forms the central government and appoints the Prime Minister.
Seat data is not available for this selection.
Seat breakdown: Janata Dal (16), Bharatiya Janata Party (6), Indian National Congress (5), Karnataka Congress Party (1).
Click on any constituency name to view the full candidate-wise breakdown with individual vote counts, vote share percentages, and party affiliations.
| Sno. | Constituency | Type | State | Winner | Party | Electors | Votes | Turnout | Margin | Margin% | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 155-Chikkodi | SC | Karnataka | Ratnamala Dhareshwar Savanoor | Janata Dal | 1027561 | 584189 | 56.90% | 112759 | 19.30% | 1996 |
| 2 | 156-Belagavi | GEN | Karnataka | Koujalagi Shivanand Hemappa | Janata Dal | 1166310 | 660679 | 56.70% | 70637 | 10.70% | 1996 |
| 3 | 157-Bagalkot | GEN | Karnataka | Meti Hullappa Yamanappa | Janata Dal | 1054336 | 675719 | 64.10% | 21332 | 3.20% | 1996 |
| 4 | 158-Bijapur | GEN | Karnataka | Patil Basangouda Rudragouda | Janata Dal | 1096455 | 519633 | 47.40% | 30593 | 5.90% | 1996 |
| 5 | 159-Kalaburagi | GEN | Karnataka | Qamarul Islam | Janata Dal | 1204474 | 580679 | 48.20% | 15545 | 2.70% | 1996 |
| 6 | 160-Raichur | GEN | Karnataka | Raja Rangappa Naik | Janata Dal | 1131242 | 497160 | 44.00% | 36405 | 7.30% | 1996 |
| 7 | 161-Bidar | SC | Karnataka | Ramachandra Veerappa | Bharatiya Janata Party | 1128431 | 497707 | 44.10% | 159413 | 32.00% | 1996 |
| 8 | 162-Koppal | GEN | Karnataka | Basavaraj Raya Reddy | Janata Dal | 1167339 | 623051 | 53.40% | 75841 | 12.20% | 1996 |
| 9 | 163-Bellary | GEN | Karnataka | K C Kondaiah | Indian National Congress | 1155671 | 642633 | 55.60% | 4519 | 0.70% | 1996 |
| 10 | 167-Davanagere | GEN | Karnataka | G Mallikarjunappa | Bharatiya Janata Party | 1143500 | 747950 | 65.40% | 97087 | 13.00% | 1996 |
| 11 | 168-Shimoga | GEN | Karnataka | S Bangarappa | Karnataka Congress Party | 1078500 | 735610 | 68.20% | 72236 | 9.80% | 1996 |
| 12 | 170-Hassan | GEN | Karnataka | Y N Rudreshagowda | Janata Dal | 1134805 | 772298 | 68.10% | 80787 | 10.50% | 1996 |
| 13 | 172-Chitradurga | GEN | Karnataka | P.Kodandaramaiah | Janata Dal | 1118685 | 722485 | 64.60% | 19382 | 2.70% | 1996 |
| 14 | 173-Tumkur | GEN | Karnataka | C N Bhaskarappa | Janata Dal | 1049708 | 684272 | 65.20% | 15712 | 2.30% | 1996 |
| 15 | 174-Mandya | GEN | Karnataka | Krishna | Janata Dal | 1040251 | 745896 | 71.70% | 33386 | 4.50% | 1996 |
| 16 | 175-Mysore | GEN | Karnataka | Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadeyay | Indian National Congress | 1210602 | 757105 | 62.50% | 11676 | 1.50% | 1996 |
| 17 | 176-Chamarajanagar | SC | Karnataka | A Siddaraju | Janata Dal | 1057750 | 714967 | 67.60% | 23576 | 3.30% | 1996 |
| 18 | 178-Bangalore North | GEN | Karnataka | C Narayanaswamy | Janata Dal | 1538457 | 834759 | 54.30% | 133302 | 16.00% | 1996 |
| 19 | 180-Bangalore South | GEN | Karnataka | Ananth Kumar | Bharatiya Janata Party | 1300498 | 727220 | 55.90% | 21968 | 3.00% | 1996 |
| 20 | 181-Chikballapur | GEN | Karnataka | R L Jalappa | Janata Dal | 1100377 | 781056 | 71.00% | 16814 | 2.20% | 1996 |
| 21 | 182-Kolar | SC | Karnataka | K H Muniyappa | Indian National Congress | 1045861 | 714163 | 68.30% | 17042 | 2.40% | 1996 |
| 22 | 573-Chikmagalur | GEN | Karnataka | B L Shankar | Janata Dal | 996548 | 649775 | 65.20% | 4059 | 0.60% | 1996 |
| 23 | 574-Dharwad North | GEN | Karnataka | Vijay Sankeshwar | Bharatiya Janata Party | 1071304 | 598156 | 55.80% | 40351 | 6.70% | 1996 |
| 24 | 575-Dharwad South | GEN | Karnataka | I G Sanadi | Indian National Congress | 1040747 | 622321 | 59.80% | 9609 | 1.50% | 1996 |
| 25 | 576-Kanakapura | GEN | Karnataka | H D Kumaraswamy | Janata Dal | 1724264 | 1066862 | 61.90% | 107404 | 10.10% | 1996 |
| 26 | 577-Kanara | GEN | Karnataka | Anant D. Hegde | Bharatiya Janata Party | 1068507 | 662500 | 62.00% | 55896 | 8.40% | 1996 |
| 27 | 578-Mangalore | GEN | Karnataka | V Dhananjaya Kumar | Bharatiya Janata Party | 964856 | 694171 | 72.00% | 14499 | 2.10% | 1996 |
| 28 | 579-Udupi | GEN | Karnataka | Oscar Fernandes | Indian National Congress | 993030 | 642416 | 64.70% | 2454 | 0.40% | 1996 |
Data-driven analysis of the 1996 Karnataka Lok Sabha election results, covering competitiveness, candidate performance, and voter behaviour.
The victory margin is the difference in votes between the winning candidate and the runner-up. A constituency with a margin under 5,000 votes is considered closely fought. The average margin in Karnataka 1996 was 46,582 votes.
The 10 parliamentary constituencies decided by the narrowest margins.
| Constituency | Winner | Party | Margin |
|---|
Candidates receiving less than one-sixth (16.67%) of valid votes forfeit their security deposit. A high forfeiture rate indicates a party fielded candidates in constituencies with little voter support.
NOTA (None of the Above) allows voters to reject all candidates. When NOTA votes exceed the victory margin, it signals significant voter dissatisfaction.
| Constituency | NOTA Votes | Win Margin | NOTA > Margin? |
|---|
The Lok Sabha (House of the People) is the lower house of India's Parliament. Members of Parliament (MPs) are directly elected by voters in their respective parliamentary constituencies through universal adult suffrage.
Karnataka is divided into 28 parliamentary constituencies. The constituencies are categorized as: GEN (24 seats), SC (4 seats). SC and ST reserved constituencies ensure representation for historically marginalized communities.
India follows the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) electoral system. The candidate who receives the highest number of votes wins the seat. Elections are conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT).