Bengaluru: In Karnataka assembly election results, Congress has won 135 seats. Incumbent BJP and JDS won 66 and 19 seats respectively.
The counting of votes polled for the May 10 Karnataka Assembly polls, which witnessed a fierce fight between archrivals BJP and the Congress, began at 8 am on Saturday as parties including the JD(S) wait with bated breath to know the outcome as hung assembly is a possibility.
The electoral fortunes of top leaders– Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai of the BJP, Congress heavyweights Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar and JD(S)’ HD Kumaraswamy, among many others will be known on Saturday.
LIVE updates
| Parties | Lead+win |
| BJP | 66 |
| Congress | 135 |
| JDS | 19 |
| Others | 3 |
2:30 pm: We fought this war with love and not hate. “Nafrat ki bazaar bandh huvi hai and Mohabbat ki dukanei khuli hai,” said Rahul Gandhi as Congress is set to reach a comfortable victory.
1:30 pm: This election result is a level up towards the Lok Sabha polls. Hopefully, all non-BJP parties unite and ensure that the saffron party is defeated: Siddaramaiah
1:29 pm: Congress wins Athani, with Laxman Savadi, a BJP turncoat
12:54 pm: “We were always confident that we will have a majority. Not via the exit polls but by people on the ground. Congress workers remain calm. Rest will be decided at the Congress office,” DK Shivakumar thanks workers, and leaders in tears.
12:19 pm: “We have not made the mark..” BJP leader Basvaraj Bommai concedes as Congress crosses the majority mark
11:41 am: BJP trails behind in Chikkamngaluru
11:26 am: DK Shivakumar is leading from Kanakapura constituency with 71.63 percent vote share
11:17 am: Siddaramaiah is leading in Varuna constituency
11:10 am: Congress leading in 43 out of 69 Lingayat dominated seats
10:20 am: Congress books resort in Hyderabad for its elected MLAs
10:14 am: Basavaraj Bommai is leading in Shiggaon against Congress’ Pathan Yasir Ahmed Khan.
9:45 am: In coastal Karnataka, Congress leads on four seats and BJP on 15 seats
9:33 am: Kumaraswamy leads in Channapatna Assembly constituency
8:55 am: Congress leads on all seats of Ballari, Karnataka
8:52 am: JDS on way to become kingmaker as party leads in 22 seats
8:37 am: Congress inches towards majority
8:25 am: Kumaraswamy trails in Channapatna Assembly constituency
8:00 am: Counting of votes begins amid tight security
Security arrangements
Elaborate security arrangements have been made across the State, especially in and around the counting centres, to avoid any untoward incidents, official sources said.
The State registered a “record” turnout of 73.19 percent in the voting on May 10, to elect representatives to the 224-member Assembly.
With most exit polls predicting a tight contest between the Congress and BJP, leaders of the two parties seem “jittery” over the outcome, while the JD(S) appears to be expecting a hung verdict, which would enable it to play a role in government formation.
Most pollsters have given an edge to the Congress over the ruling BJP, while also indicating the possibility of a hung Assembly in the state.
Having banked on the Modi juggernaut, the ruling BJP is looking to break a 38-year-old poll jinx where the people have never voted the incumbent party to power, while the Congress is hoping for a morale booster victory to give it a much-needed elbow room and momentum to position itself as the main opposition player in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Will JD(S) emerge as ‘Kingmaker’?
It also remains to be seen whether former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda-led JD(S) will emerge as a “kingmaker” or a “king” by holding the key to government formation, in the event of a hung verdict, as it has done in the past.
Like it has been the trend for about the last two decades, Karnataka witnessed a three-cornered contest, with a direct fight between the said parties in most of the constituencies.
The Aam Aadmi Party(AAP), which is in power in Delhi and Punjab, has also fielded its candidates. Also there were some smaller parties in the fray in a few constituencies.
“A government with full majority” was the strong pitch of the leaders of all the political parties during the high-decibel, no holds barred campaigning that ended on Monday, as they stressed on getting a clear mandate to form a strong and stable government, unlike what happened after the 2018 polls.
2018 Karnataka poll results
The BJP had then emerged as the single largest party by winning 104 seats, followed by Congress with 80 seats and JD(S) 37. There was also one independent member, while the BSP and Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janatha Party (KPJP) got one legislator each elected.
In the 2018 elections, the Congress garnered a vote-share of 38.04 per cent, followed by the BJP (36.22 per cent) and the JD(S) (18.36 per cent).
With no party getting a clear majority at the time and as Congress and JD(S) were trying to forge an alliance, B S Yediyurappa of the BJP, which was the single largest party, staked claim and formed the government. However, it was dissolved within three days, ahead of a trust vote, as the saffron party strongman was unable to muster the required numbers.
Subsequently, the Congress-JD(S) alliance formed the government with Kumaraswamy as CM, but the wobbly dispensation collapsed in 14 months, triggered by the resignation of 17 ruling coalition legislators and their subsquent defection to the BJP. This enabled the BJP’s return to power. In the bypolls held subsequently in 2019, the ruling party won 12 out of 15 seats.
In the outgoing Assembly, the ruling BJP has 116 MLAs, followed by the Congress 69, JD(S) 29, BSP one, independents two, speaker one and vacant six (following deaths and resignations to join other parties ahead of the polls).
(With inputs from PTI)
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