Karnataka Exit Poll 2023 LIVE: Hung Assembly or Majority Mandate? Seat Projections Start 6:30pm

The Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023 features top candidates such as Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai (Shiggaon), Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah (Varuna), JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy (Channapatna), and Shivakumar (Kanakapura). Additionally, former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar (Hubli-Dharwad Central) is also in the fray, having recently joined the Congress party after quitting BJP. All the political parties have emphasized the need for a clear mandate to form a strong and stable government, with “a government with full majority” being the war cry during campaigning, unlike the situation after the 2018 polls.

According to ADR reports, 95 per cent of MLAs in the Karnataka Assembly are crorepatis.

In the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections, the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 104 seats, followed by the Congress with 80 and JD(S) with 37. However, as no party got a clear majority, the BJP staked a claim to form the government, which was dissolved within three days ahead of a trust vote. Subsequently, the Congress-JD(S) alliance formed the government, but it collapsed in 14 months due to the defection of 17 legislators. The BJP returned to power in the state. The 2023 election will determine if the BJP can retain power or if a new government will take charge. In the bypolls held subsequently in 2019, the ruling party won 12 out of 15 seats.

The ruling BJP is aiming to break the 38-year pattern by leveraging the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and reinforcing its hold on the southern stronghold. To achieve this, Prime Minister Modi addressed 19 public meetings and held six roadshows, while Union Home Minister Amit Shah participated in 16 public rallies and 14 roadshows. BJP chief JP Nadda held 10 public meetings and 16 roadshows.

For the past 38 years, no party has been re-elected in Karnataka.

After the voting for the Karnataka Assembly election ends at 6 PM, various agencies such as CVoter, Lokniti-CSDS, Axis My India, and Today’s Chanakya will release their exit poll predictions. The final results will be announced by the Election Commission of India on May 13. Several news channels, such as CNN-News18 and News18 news website will be airing the exit poll results. See our Karnataka Elections LIVE Coverage Here

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, IT industry veteran N R Narayana Murthy with wife Sudha Murty, former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, and member of Mysuru royal family ‘Rajamate’ Pramoda Devi Wadiyar were among the early voters who cast their ballots. In addition, Siddalinga Swamiji, seer of the Tumakuru-based Siddaganga Mutt, senior Congress leader G Parameshwara, ministers R Ashoka, Araga Jnanendra, C N Ashwath Narayan, and K Sudhakar, and actor Ramesh Arvind also exercised their franchise in the initial hours of polling.

The ruling BJP, buoyed by the PM Modi wave, aims to break the 38-year curse of no incumbent party winning re-election since 1985 and consolidate its hold on the southern state. Meanwhile, the Congress seeks to seize power and gain the necessary leverage and impetus to emerge as the primary opposition force in the 2024 national elections. It remains to be seen if the Janata Dal (Secular) will play the role of kingmaker or king, as it has in the past, by holding the key to government formation in the event of a hung verdict.

There are 2,615 candidates contesting across 58,545 polling stations in the state of Karnataka, with a total of 5,31,33,054 eligible voters. Of these, 2,67,28,053 are male, 2,64,00,074 are female, and 4,927 belong to the “others” category. Among the candidates, 2,430 are male, 184 are female, and one belongs to the third gender.

Voting is currently underway for the 224 seats in the Karnataka Assembly election, which is being seen as a three-cornered contest between the ruling BJP, the Congress, and the Janata Dal (Secular) led by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda. The election will decide the fate of several prominent leaders such as Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Congress veterans Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar, and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy. The votes will be counted on May 13.

As of 1 pm, the voter turnout for the Karnataka Legislative Assembly polls has been recorded as 37.25%. According to election commission updates as of 11 pm, highest turnout in the first four hours was in Udupi with 30.26%, while the lowest was in Chamarajanagar district with 16.77%. Polling began at 7 am and will continue until 6 pm.