)
A resurgent BJP today won 11 seats and was marching ahead of the ruling Congress in six constituencies in the state, dealing a blow to its principal rival in the Lok Sabha polls.
Congress' expectations of replicating its success in the May 2013 Assembly polls doesn't seem have to have worked as the party bagged five seats and was leading in four others as the counting was progressing in 11 seats.
JDS won the Hassan seat with its supremo and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda trouncing his nearest rival, Congress' A Manju by 1,00,462 votes while it led in another.
BJP was leading in Bangalore South with its candidate Ananth Kumar ahead of his rival Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani by a margin of over 1,70,000 votes in a constituency that has been a difficult terrain for the Congress since late 1970s.
Nilekani, whose entry had given a high-profile status to the contest, has conceded defeat to his rival, a five-time MP.
In Shimoga, former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa scored a spectacular victory winning the seat by a huge margin of 3,63,305 votes, in his second attempt in political career to enter Parliament after the failed maiden bid.
Among the prominent winners for Congress was Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge who retained the Gulbarga seat by a margin of 74,733 votes defeating Revunaik Belamagi of BJP.
In a see-saw battle, another Union Minister M Veerappa Moily was leading by over 10,000 votes in Chikkaballapur constituency.
Former Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda trounced Congress candidate C Narayana Swamy by 2,29,764 votes in Bangalore North, while his BJP colleague P C Mohan was ahead by over 1,19,000 votes in Bangalore Central.
After its humiliating defeat in the May 2013 Assembly polls, that saw Congress bounce back to power, BJP was on the downside but has retrieved the lost ground, aided by the "Modi magic" as also the return of Lingayat strongman Yeddyurappa to the party.
