# BJP held edge as Karnataka contests turned increasingly bipolar 2026-08-06T22:51:18+00:00 | Politics | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The Hindu’s analysis of Karnataka’s last three Assembly elections found that 77% of seats had effectively bipolar contests in 2018, up from 46% in 2008. Triangular contests fell from 43% to 17%, while fragmented contests dropped to 4% from a 2013 peak of 19%. The analysis used the effective number of parties, calculated from each party’s vote share, rather than simply counting candidates. The shift occurred across all six regions, with over 70% of seats recording bipolar contests in 2018. In such seats, the BJP’s strike rate was 49%, against 35% for the Congress. The Hindu found the BJP generally performed better in bipolar contests, while the Congress did better in triangular fights. ## Coverage - thehindu.com Tags: bipolar contests, BJP, Congress, electoral data, Karnataka elections Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/bjp-held-edge-as-karnataka-contests-turned-increasingly-bipolar/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/bjp-held-edge-as-karnataka-contests-turned-increasingly-bipolar/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.