The BJP candidates maintained the lead throughout.
The constituency comprises of the districts of Dharwad, Haveri, Gadag and Uttara Kannada. Patil who won the seat with ease was swept aside by the BJP wave sweeping the state in general and North Karnataka in particular.
For Patil this is the second defeat in his political career and the first in the West Graduates Constituency. He had been winning from 1984 increasing his victory margin steadily. In 2002, he defeated BJP's C M Nimbannavar by a margin of over 16,000 votes.
