Karnataka Election 2023 Live Updates: Exit polls will indicate BJP's victory in Karnataka, says Yediyurappa

"I am appealing to everyone, please cast a vote by looking at our gas cylinders. I have advised all my leaders to put a (cooking) gas cylinder outside the booth and put a garland on it," Shivakumar told reporters. The Congress has accused the BJP government of failing to check inflation and alleged that people were suffering due to high prices of some essential commodities.

Karnataka has recorded a voter turnout of about 37.25 per cent till 1 PM on Wednesday in the polls to elect representatives to the 224-member State Legislative Assembly.

In the first six hours of polling, which began at 7 am and will go on till 6 pm, the coastal district of Udupi recorded the highest turnout of 47.79 per cent, with the the lowest polling in Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) central limits (parts of Bengaluru city) at 29.41 per cent, election officials said.

Opposition leader Siddaramaiah on Wednesday claimed that the Congress will secure 60 per cent of vote share in the Assembly polls and bag 130 to 160 seats.

Speaking to reporters before casting his vote in Varuna, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence in Congress forming a full-fledged majority government in the state. "The spirit and enthusiasm for voting in the state is visible. The people are responding commendably to the voting process," he said.

Former Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Wednesday claimed that the BJP will get a clear majority in the state, a trend which will be indicated by the exit polls later in the evening.

He made the remarks to the media after voting in the ongoing Assembly polls along with his family members in Shikaripura town, Shivamogga district.

Yediyurappa's son B.Y. Vijayendra, who is contesting as the BJP candidate from Shikaripura, accompanied his father to the polling station.

A complaint and a counter-complaint have been lodged at the Bajpe police station here after Congress workers alleged that the supporters of Mangaluru North Janata Dal (Secular) candidate B A Mohiuddin Bava assaulted them on Tuesday night.

Two Congress workers who were injured in the scuffle, Nizam and Hasher, have been admitted to a private hospital.

A polling officer was taken into police custody after a woman complained that he cast her vote in favour of the BJP while helping her with the voting process on Wednesday.

The incident occurred at a polling booth in Chittapur constituency in Kalaburgi district.

Basamma Entuman had requested the polling officer, B.C. Chauhan cast her vote in favour of Congress candidate, Priyank Kharge. However, the officer did it in favour of the BJP candidate Manikanth Rathode.

Former Karnataka chief minister and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Wednesday alleged that the ruling BJP wants to win the Assembly election with "money power" as they "do not have any developmental works to showcase" to the people.

He also charged Prime Minister Narendra Modi with being silent on price rise, unemployment and corruption in the state during his series of public meetings while campaigning for the elections taking place today.

Karnataka assemble elections 2023 is being held today from 7 am to 6 pm. Following the closure of polling, several agencies, including CVoter, Lokniti-CSDS, Axis My India, and Today's Chanakya, are expected to release their exit poll results on television channels.

A voter turnout of 20.99 per cent was recorded till 11 am on Wednesday in the polls to elect representatives for the 224-member Karnataka Legislative Assembly.

The highest turnout in the first four hours of polling, which began at 7 am and will go on till 6 pm, was in the coastal district of Udupi (30.26 per cent) and the lowest in Chamarajanagar district (16.77 per cent), election officials said.

Karnataka is witnessing a three-cornered contest among the ruling BJP, the Congress and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda's Janata Dal (Secular).

Talking to reporters after casting her vote, Nirmala Sitaraman said, "we all join our hands before Bajrang Bali and recite Hanuman chalisa. For Congress, it is an election issue. Karnataka is the birth place of lord Hanuman. You (Congress) propose to ban Bajrang Dal in your manifesto here. "Ye bewakoofi ka udaharan hai" (This is an example of stupidity).

The statement of banning Bajrang Dal is not being made here and there, but it is given in the manifesto, she said.

The Finance minister cast her vote at the Bharath Education society polling booth in Jayanagar, Bengaluru.

A local leader, who was earlier with the BJP and had joined Congress recently, was injured in a clash between BJP and Congress workers during the polling in Bellary rural constituency in Karnataka on Wednesday.

Umesh Yadav was injured in the head in the clash between workers of the two parties. Police reached the spot and dispersed the violent mob.

In another incident, BJP workers allegedly clashed with the Karnataka Rajya Pragathi Paksha Party (KRPP) workers at booths no 159 and 160 at Gangavati central constituency.

"The young voters are intelligent and talented and they will make a suitable decision. They will remove this corrupt government and elect a Congress government," DK Shivakumar said. "Late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had reduced the age of voters from 21 years to 18 years. They will vote for a change, change for a democratic and global Karnataka. They know about the price rise, corruption in the government and I am sure they will vote for a change".

Prakash Raj on Wednesday cast his vote in Karnataka Assembly Elections at St Joseph's School in Shanti Nagar, Bengaluru.

"We've to vote against communal politics. We need Karnataka to be beautiful," Prakash Raj said after casting his vote.

Several actors also cast their votes today.

Amulya and her husband cast their votes at a polling booth in RR Nagar, Bengaluru.

Ganesh, his wife, and actor Ramesh Aravind arrived at a polling booth in RR Nagar, Bengaluru to cast their votes.

The polling for the Karnataka Assembly elections began at 7 am amid tight security and will continue till 6 pm.

According to the Election Commission, till 9 am voters' turnout was 7.83 per cent.

Karnataka is voting for 224 seats to elect its next government. Bride, freedom fighter, kidney transplant patient among early voters. A bride exercised the right to franchise before she got married in Udupi. A kidney transplant patient voted just 7 days after his surgery. Infosys founder Narayan Murthy and Padma Shri awardee Sudha Murty were among early voters in Bengaluru. From the elderly to first-time voters many polling booths have seen an encouraging turnout of voters. The main parties in the fray are BJP, which is seeking a re-election. The Congress is trying to regain a state it lost and the JD-S is also confident it will do well in the state. Aam Aadmi party has also fielded candidates in this election. It is also going to be the last electoral battle for many senior leaders. Counting of votes will take place on May 13.

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday expressed confidence in the BJP returning to power with an outright majority.

Speaking to reporters here after casting his vote at a government school in Haveri district, Bommai, who is seeking re-election from Shiggaon segment for a fourth consecutive term, said he would win with a record margin.

"So is the BJP, which is going to win with a record number of seats. Comfortable majority will be there," he said.

On whether he is confident of being retained as Chief Minister, Bommai said that question would be addressed by the legislature party and the BJP Parliamentary Board after the elections.

"I will be able to answer that question after (May) 13th (day of counting of votes)," he remarked.

Shirahatti-16.2%

Gadag-15.64%

Ron-22.04%

Nargund- 23.72%

Co-founder of IT major Infosys N R Narayana Murthy and his author wife Sudha Murty cast their ballot for the Karnataka Assembly elections on Wednesday and exhorted people to vote.

"First, we vote and then we say this is good and this is not good. But if we don't do that, then we have no rights to criticise," 76-year-old Narayana Murthy said after exercising his franchise in the morning here.

Regarding his "expectations" while voting, the software icon said: "My hope is that for my grandchildren this place will be one of the best places in the world to live, to pursue their career, education and to add value to the society. That's how I hope."

"We all hope that the poorest guy in the remotest village in India have access to the basic education, decent healthcare, decent nutrition, and hope that that child's grandchildren will have a better future than that child," Murthy added.

His wife Sudha Murty said the younger generation should learn from them and exercise their franchise. "I will tell youngsters please look at us. We are aged but still we get up at 6 am, we get ready and vote. Please learn from us," she said.

BJP leader and former Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa's son, B Y Vijayendra on Wednesday voted in Shivamogga and expressed confidence that his party will win 135 seats in the Karnataka Assembly polls.

"Modi's magic will give us the absolute majority. We will win at least 130 seats in this election. Not only the Lingayat community, but all other castes are also with BJP. Congress will lose the election very badly," said Vijayendra.

Vijayendra accompanied his father as the duo visited his family's ancestral temple at Raghavendra Swamy Mutt in Shikaripura ahead of voting. Vijayendra is contesting from the Shikaripura constituency, which was his father's traditional seat.

"This is my first election and I am happy that the party gave me the opportunity to contest. I'm blessed to contest for the Shikaripura seat. People are fed up with hung assembly and I am confident that BJP will get a majority," he said.

BS Yediyurappa was among early voters and cast his vote at Adalitha Soudha in Shivamogga.

Former Karnataka Deputy chief minister and Congress leader G Parameshwara on Wednesday cast his vote at a polling booth in Siddharth Nagar of Tumakuru.

Earlier, Former Chief Minister of Karnataka and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader BS Yediyurappa, Chief Minister of Karnataka Bommai cast their vote.

Notably, the high-voltage campaign for the May 10 Assembly elections in Karnataka came to an end on Monday as all three major political parties in the state -- BJP, Congress and JD(S) - with their last chance to woo the voters.

However, voting is currently underway for 224 assembly constituencies in Karnataka with 2,615 candidates in the fray.

The polling for the Karnataka Assembly elections began at 7 am amid tight security and will continue till 6 pm.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's daughter and BRS MLC K Kavitha on Wednesday, without mentioning any party, asked Karnataka voters to cast the ballot for development and prosperity.

"Dear Karnataka, Reject Hatred! Vote for development, prosperity & well-being of the society and the people," she said in a tweet.

Voting for the high-stakes Assembly elections in Karnataka began at 7 am today.

Though the BRS toyed with the idea of contesting the Karnataka polls, it decided not to go ahead as its friendly party JD(S) is in fray and also there was lack of sufficient time for preparation ahead of election, BRS sources had earlier indicated.

Brisk voting was underway in Hubbali-Dharwad constituency, where former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar is fighting a tough battle against BJP leader Mahesh Tenginkai in the Assembly polls, voting for which got underway on Wednesday morning.

Dharwad district also reported heavy polling in the initial stages. R. Muniyappa, a trader after voting at Hubbali central said, "I generally go for a morning walk and I thought that I would vote and go back home. Hence am the first among the few to vote. Now there is a light rush in my booth."

After experiencing rains on Tuesday night, the Hubbali-Dharwad has a sunny morning.

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday urged the people of Karnataka to vote in large numbers to build a progressive and a "40-per cent-commission-free" state. In a tweet in Hindi, Gandhi said, "Karnataka's vote… for 5 guarantees, for women's rights, for youth employment, for the upliftment of the poor. Come, vote in large numbers.""Let's build a 40%-commission-free, progressive Karnataka together," Gandhi tweeted in Hindi using the hashtag 'Congress Winning150'.

91-Kampli - 11.54 %

92-Siraguppa-9.53 %

93-Ballari Rural- 8.54 %

94-Ballari City- 7.26 %

95-Sandur-5.90 %

Ballari District average - 8.554 %

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said that people of Karnataka have decided to choose a progressive, transparent and welfare-oriented government.

As voting process for the Assembly elections in Karnataka commenced on Wednesday, Kharge took to Twitter to urge voters, especially first-time voters to come out and participate in the democratic process for a better future.

"People of Karnataka have decided to choose a progressive, transparent and welfare-oriented government. Today, it is time to vote in large numbers. We welcome our first-time voters to participate in this democratic process for a better future," Kharge tweeted.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi also urged voters to exercise their franchise. "As the polling for the assembly elections begins, I urge all my sisters and brothers in Karnataka to go out there and vote for change."

He added, "It's time to bring in a strong, development-oriented and capable government that works tirelessly to make your lives better."

While starting the voting machine, the machine was showing old figures. It showed that the candidate had won by 45 votes.Finally, the officials deleted the old figures, restarted the machine afresh and started voting. People had to keep waiting till the EVM was ready.

Siddalinga Swami of the influential Lingayat Siddaganga mutt on Wednesday cast his vote in the Karnataka Assembly polls at a polling booth in Tumakuru.

The Lingayat and Vokkaliga voters will play a major factor in the elections. Lingayats comprise 17 per cent of the population and Vokkaligas 11 per cent.

The polling for the Karnataka Assembly elections began at 7 am amid tight security on Wednesday and will continue till 6 pm.

All three major political parties in the state -- BJP, Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular (JDS)-- have put in efforts to woo voters, making promises and levelling accusations at each other to secure a majority in the state's 224-seat Assembly.

The voting is being held for 224 assembly constituencies in Karnataka with 2,615 candidates in the fray. The fate of the candidates will be known on May 13, the day of the counting of votes. Polling is scheduled across 58,545 polling stations including auxiliary polling stations.