Karnataka Election Results 2023 Live Updates: Congress crosses majority-mark, BJP ahead in 80+ seats, show early trends

The grand old party is now ahead in 115 seats

As per the current trends, the grand old party is now ahead in 110 seats. The majority mark is 113

Ramesh Jarkiholi is lagging behind in second round too against Dr Mahantesh Kadadi of Congress

JD(S) is leading in a closely contested battle with BJP in the constituency

Congress candidate Jagadish Shettar is trailing from Hubballi-Dharwad Central constituency

BJP candidate Ramesh Jarkiholi is lagging behind by 500 votes in Gokak constituency against Congress candidate Dr Mahantesh Kadadi

Congress is now leading in 95 seats, BJP is ahead in 61

BJP leads in Shivamogga segment where the party replaced veteran leader KS Eshwarappa

The chief minister started his day with a temple visit amid counting of votes

Based on the early trends from various sources, it appears to be a neck and neck fight between Congress and BJP

He is the son of former CM HD Kumaraswamy

"In the next 2-3 hours, it will become clear. Exit polls show that the two national parties will score in a big way. The polls have given 30-32 seats to JD(S). I am a small party, there is no demand for me...I am hoping for a good development," he said.

The BJP is ahead in 82 seats, the Congress is leading in 76

Shettar, the former CM, had resigned from BJP after being snubbeed by the party

According to reports, the grand old party is in touch with as many as 10 Independents amid counting of votes

Track how candidates from every constituency and party are performing

The party is ahead in 40 seats but the Congress isn't far behind with leads in 33 constituencies

There are 224 seats in the state. The majority mark is 113. Stay tuned to see which party comes close to the magic figure.

The HD Deve Gowda-led party is leading in 3 seats, as per first trends

The BJP is ahead in 22 seats, Congress in 16 in postal ballot counting

The votes are being counted at 38 counting centres. Early trends will emerge soon ...

In the outgoing Karnataka 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).

Stay tuned for early trends ...

In the 2018 elections, no party won a clear majority in the state. The BJP emerged as the single largest party with 104 seats. The Congress and JD(S) bagged 80 and 37 seats respectively. Interestingly, the Congress garnered a higher vote-share than BJP. It bagged 38.04 per cent of the votres, followed by BJP (36.22 per cent) and JD(S) (18.36 per cent).

The winning candidates are not allowed to take out procession or disturb law and order in and around the counting centers as prohibtory orders under section 144 of IPC have been clamped

The early trends will be based on the postal ballot counting. Stay tuned to see how parties stack up after the first leads ...

With a strong buzz of a hung assembly, JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy reportedly said that he was ready to partner with a party that will fulfill his conditions. Meanwhile, the JD(S) has asserted that it has decided which party it will support in the event of a fractured mandate without naming either BJP or Congress.

A day before the counting of votes, Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai reiterated that the BJP is all set to cross the magic number and will get the majority. "Congress will not get the majority, and hence the leaders of the party are talking to others," he said. He also met BJP veteran B S Yediyurappa along with other party leaders, including ministers Murugesh Nirani, Byrathi Basavaraj, party MP Lehar Singh Siroya and A T Ramaswamy, at the former chief minister's residence.

All eyes will be on the results from the Vokkaliga heartland of Mandya and the twin districts of Mysuru-Chamarajanagar today. The three districts comprise 22 seats in total, of which JD(S) has 10. BJP and Congress share 6 each.

Both BJP and Congress generated a lot of buzz when they released their respective election manifestos for the state. The BJP promised to bring Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Karnataka after making similar vows in other states where polls were held recently. It also promised to provide 3 free cooking gas cylinders to all BPL families annually. Meanwhile, the Congress's promise to ban the right-wing Bajrang Dal in its manifesto drew the ire of BJP. The grand old party also promised free electricity and monthly allowance to women & unemployed.

Security arrangements have been tightened ahead of counting of votes for the 224 seats. There are adequate police personnel deployed as per plan at each strong room, counting hall and counting centre premises, DC Bengaluru Urban, Dayananda KA said.