The Karnataka mandate: Hindutva is hidden and flourishing in details https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/karnataka-mandate-hindutva-hidden-and-flourishing-details-177448 the BJP, which could win in only 66 seats, thereby losing 40 seats compared to the 2018 verdict, has not lost its vote share. It has obtained a 36% vote share which is the same as the 2018 election. If you break it into absolute numbers the real picture will be clearer.
In 2018, 1.32 crore voters voted for BJP. In 2023, 1.4 crore voters voted for BJP. Thus, eight lakh more voters favoured BJP this time. While the Congress can form the government comfortably for the next five years, this victory itself cannot be construed as the defeat of communalism or of the BJP.