The 1998 Lok Sabha (Parliament) election in Karnataka was held to elect Members of Parliament (MPs) from 28 parliamentary constituencies in the state. Bharatiya Janata Party emerged as the leading party, winning 13 seats. Indian National Congress came second with 9 seats.
A total of 33,098,338 electors were registered to vote across the state. Of these, 21,488,648 votes were polled, resulting in an overall voter turnout of 64.9%. The average victory margin across all constituencies was 88,776 votes, with the closest contest decided by just 6,907 votes and the largest margin reaching 184,633 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: Bharatiya Janata Party (13), Indian National Congress (9), Janata Dal (3), Lok Shakti (3).
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 | Jigajinagi Ramesh Chandappa | Lok Shakti | 1069088 | 693358 | 64.90% | 131238 | 18.90% | 1998 |
| 2 | 156-Belagavi | GEN | Karnataka | Babagouda Rudragouda Patil | Bharatiya Janata Party | 1201792 | 737740 | 61.40% | 97057 | 13.20% | 1998 |
| 3 | 157-Bagalkot | GEN | Karnataka | Ajaykumar Sambasadashiv Sarnaik | Lok Shakti | 1079932 | 724951 | 67.10% | 83632 | 11.50% | 1998 |
| 4 | 158-Bijapur | GEN | Karnataka | Patil Mallanagouda Basanagouda | Indian National Congress | 1133499 | 655370 | 57.80% | 52822 | 8.10% | 1998 |
| 5 | 159-Kalaburagi | GEN | Karnataka | Baswaraj Patil Sedam | Bharatiya Janata Party | 1274111 | 751734 | 59.00% | 131798 | 17.50% | 1998 |
| 6 | 160-Raichur | GEN | Karnataka | A.Venkatesh Naik | Indian National Congress | 1199449 | 607194 | 50.60% | 78278 | 12.90% | 1998 |
| 7 | 161-Bidar | SC | Karnataka | Ramchandra Veerappa | Bharatiya Janata Party | 1188479 | 610065 | 51.30% | 184633 | 30.30% | 1998 |
| 8 | 162-Koppal | GEN | Karnataka | H.G.Ramulu | Indian National Congress | 1212089 | 726342 | 59.90% | 83122 | 11.40% | 1998 |
| 9 | 163-Bellary | GEN | Karnataka | K.C.Kondaiah | Indian National Congress | 1179711 | 738610 | 62.60% | 63738 | 8.60% | 1998 |
| 10 | 167-Davanagere | GEN | Karnataka | Shamanur Shiva Shankarappa | Indian National Congress | 1181787 | 828009 | 70.10% | 11332 | 1.40% | 1998 |
| 11 | 168-Shimoga | GEN | Karnataka | Ayanoor Manjunath | Bharatiya Janata Party | 1110135 | 786730 | 70.90% | 159907 | 20.30% | 1998 |
| 12 | 170-Hassan | GEN | Karnataka | H D Devegowda | Janata Dal | 1172571 | 864621 | 73.70% | 31654 | 3.70% | 1998 |
| 13 | 172-Chitradurga | GEN | Karnataka | C.P.Mudala Giriyappa | Indian National Congress | 1152852 | 763214 | 66.20% | 58321 | 7.60% | 1998 |
| 14 | 173-Tumkur | GEN | Karnataka | S.Mallikarjunaiah | Bharatiya Janata Party | 1080851 | 728992 | 67.50% | 71187 | 9.80% | 1998 |
| 15 | 174-Mandya | GEN | Karnataka | Ambareesh | Janata Dal | 1067217 | 794821 | 74.50% | 180523 | 22.70% | 1998 |
| 16 | 175-Mysore | GEN | Karnataka | C.H.Vijayashankar | Bharatiya Janata Party | 1240108 | 858402 | 69.20% | 103024 | 12.00% | 1998 |
| 17 | 176-Chamarajanagar | SC | Karnataka | Siddaraju. A. | Janata Dal | 1082515 | 747221 | 69.00% | 70315 | 9.40% | 1998 |
| 18 | 178-Bangalore North | GEN | Karnataka | C.K.Jaffer Sharief | Indian National Congress | 1664305 | 961717 | 57.80% | 72447 | 7.50% | 1998 |
| 19 | 180-Bangalore South | GEN | Karnataka | Ananth Kumar | Bharatiya Janata Party | 1398070 | 810135 | 58.00% | 180047 | 22.20% | 1998 |
| 20 | 181-Chikballapur | GEN | Karnataka | R.L.Jalappa | Indian National Congress | 1144669 | 825229 | 72.10% | 127055 | 15.40% | 1998 |
| 21 | 182-Kolar | SC | Karnataka | K.H.Muniyappa | Indian National Congress | 1080364 | 780806 | 72.30% | 77972 | 10.00% | 1998 |
| 22 | 573-Chikmagalur | GEN | Karnataka | Sreekantappa D.C. | Bharatiya Janata Party | 1050631 | 727521 | 69.30% | 52496 | 7.20% | 1998 |
| 23 | 574-Dharwad North | GEN | Karnataka | Vijay Sankeshwar | Bharatiya Janata Party | 1084875 | 694185 | 64.00% | 129201 | 18.60% | 1998 |
| 24 | 575-Dharwad South | GEN | Karnataka | B.M.Menasinakai | Lok Shakti | 1061612 | 718159 | 67.70% | 86962 | 12.10% | 1998 |
| 25 | 576-Kanakapura | GEN | Karnataka | M.Srinivas | Bharatiya Janata Party | 1921886 | 1228049 | 63.90% | 16441 | 1.30% | 1998 |
| 26 | 577-Kanara | GEN | Karnataka | Anant Kumar | Bharatiya Janata Party | 1086420 | 730812 | 67.30% | 87047 | 11.90% | 1998 |
| 27 | 578-Mangalore | GEN | Karnataka | V.Dhananjaya Kumar | Bharatiya Janata Party | 971958 | 715912 | 73.70% | 6907 | 1.00% | 1998 |
| 28 | 579-Udupi | GEN | Karnataka | I.M.Jayarama Shetty | Bharatiya Janata Party | 1007362 | 678749 | 67.40% | 56568 | 8.30% | 1998 |
Data-driven analysis of the 1998 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 1998 was 88,776 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).