India’s main Hindu nationalist opposition party has won a state election in Karnataka – its first ever in southern India – in the latest setback to the ruling Congress party ahead of national elections next year.

The Elections Commission of India announced late last night that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had won 110 of the 224 seats in the parliament of Karnataka, whose capital is the technology hub of Bangalore.

Congress, which leads the federal coalition government, took just 80 seats despite deploying both Sonia Gandhi, the party’s Italian-born leader, and her 37-year-old son and heir, Rahul, during an intense election campaign.

The secular Janta Dal party came third with 28 seats and independents took the remaining six, the commission said.

The BJP is now poised to join forces with some of those independents to form its first ever government in southern India, which has traditionally been dominated by Congress and small regional parties.

BJP leaders said the result proved that their party was appealing to voters beyond its traditional support base in the Hindu “cow belt” of northern India, and could now compete with Congress nationwide.

"Triumph in Karnataka will prove to be a turning point," L. K. Advani, the BJP leader, said in a statement.

"This geographical expansion of the BJP, and the simultaneous shrinkage of the Congress party almost all over the country, shows the shape of things to come in the run-up to the next parliamentary elections."

Congress dismissed Mr Advani’s comments, pointing out that it had actually won more seats than in Karnataka’s last election, and pledged to emerge stronger after a “brief spell” in opposition.

"All such generalisations are completely misleading and inappropriate," said Abhishek Singhvi, a Congress spokesman.

But the showdown between the country’s two biggest national parties was widely seen as a foretaste of next year’s poll, which is expected before May.

It was also Congress’s ninth state election defeat since it dislodged the BJP in the last national elections 2004.

Analysts said Congress was punished for not nominating a candidate to be Chief Minister of Karnataka, while the BJP ran a personality-driven campaign centred on its candidate, B.S. Yeddyurappa.

Congress also lost votes because of rising food prices, domestic security concerns, and growing dissatisfaction among the rural poor who have missed out on India’s economic boom.

With less than 11 months until the national polls, Congress leaders are now hoping they can reverse their losing streak in state elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Delhi later this year.

Kuldip Nayar, a political analyst, columnist and former member of parliament's upper house said: "This is a blow for Congress.They've got the same old leadership, now with Rahul [Gandhi] thrown in, but what they represent doesn't seem to be going down well.

"Rahul has to do some grass roots work. He still seems to be imposed from above. He's not clicking."

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