Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018: BJP leads in 84, Congress 49, JD(S) 35

The BJP is leading in Karnataka as counting of votes began on May 15 in the State’s 222 Assembly constituencies which went to polls on May 12.

According to the leads available on the Election Commission of India website, the BJP has taken a lead in 84 seats, followed by the Congress in 49 and the JD(S) in 35 at 10.05 a.m.

While the Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janatha Party and the BSP are leading in one seat each. An independent is also leading.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is trailing in Chamundeshwari. He is trailing by 12,680 votes as per trends available at 10.05 a.m. IST.  In Badami he is leading by a slender margin of 169 votes aainst BJP’s B. Sriramulu.

In Shikaripura, BJP’s CM candidate B.S. Yeddyurappa is leading by over 7,000 votes.

In Ramanagaram, JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy is leading with 19,724 votes. In Channapatna too Mr. Kumaraswamy is leading by a margin of over 1,000 votes.

BJP’s K.S. Eshwarappa, former Deputy Chief Minister is leading in Shivamogga segment by more than 11,000 votes.

Vote counting began at 8 a.m. at 38 centres in 30 districts where 72.36% of the 5.07 crore electorate polled across the State, the Election Commission official told IANS in Bengaluru.

Votes polled in 26 of the 28 Bengaluru’s urban and rural segments are being counted at four centres across the city.

“The poll panel has deployed 16,662 personnel to count votes in each segment and declare the result after the process is completed,” noted the official.

In all, 2,622 candidates, including 217 women contested for the seats, which had 36 reserved for Scheduled Castes and 15 for the Scheduled Tribes.

Election in Bengaluru’s Raja Rajeshwari (RR) Nagar was postponed to May 28 due to seizure of voter ID cards and countermanded in the city’s Jayanagar seat due to the death of BJP candidate and MLA B.N. Vijaya Kumar on May 4. Vote counting in RR Nagar will be taken up on May 31.

(With agency inputs)