May 13, 2023 07:00 am | Updated 09:07 am IST
Visuals from a counting centre in Ballari.
All eyes are set on 224 Assembly seats of Karnataka that went to polls on May 10, as the counting of votes started at 8 a.m. on Saturday amid tight security. The counting is being held at 36 centres across the State, in which 2,615 candidates are in the fray.
“The counting of votes will start at 8.00 a.m. across 36 designated centres in the southern State,” the Election Commission said before the counting. A clear picture of the result is likely to emerge by noon.
As per the Election Commission, voting on May 10 passed off peacefully with an impressive turnout of over 72.68%, which is likely to surpass the 2018 figures (72.36%) after the final reconciliation of figures.
Exit polls predicted a tight contest between the Congress and the BJP with most pollsters giving an edge to the grand old party. 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.
The current term of the government will end on May 24, 2023.
On the eve of the counting of votes, the top leaders of the BJP and the Congress adopted a cautious approach by holding informal confabulations to take stock of the situation while JD(S) leader H. D. Kumaraswamy, who is in Singapore, monitored the situation from there.
After the first round of counting, Congress candidate K. Harish Gowda leading in Chamaraja constituency in Mysuru and former Minister and JD(S) candidate S.R. Mahesh trailing in K R Nagar.
The ruling BJP was slightly ahead of the Congress in early trends as the counting of votes was taken up for the Karnataka Assembly elections on Saturday.
As per the latest trends, the BJP was ahead in 41, the Congress 36 and JD(S) in 13.
Postal ballots were being counted initially.
PTI
With hours to go for the final results of the Karnataka Assembly polls to be declared, JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy on said that he has not been contacted as yet for the formation of the government in case of a cliffhanger, adding that he is hoping for a good show.
Mr. Kumaraswamy cited the exit polls which predicted nearly 30-32 seats to JD(S) and a clear edge to the Congress party with some even predicting a majority for the grand old party and said that according to the predictions, there is no need for him to explore options.
“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.
“No one has contacted me till now. Let us see the final results first. According to the exit polls, there is no need for options. Let us see,” the JD(S) leader added.
ANI
“I am confident that BJP will have absolute majority and give a stable government where a new Karnataka with all-inclusive development will be possible,” Karnataka CM Bommai tells PTI.
An analysis of economic, social and environmental indicators of Karnataka shows that the State features at the bottom half of many measures and also its performance relatively worsened between 2015-16 and 2019-21. While the State’s per capita GDP has improved leaps and bounds over the years, the growth has not translated to better outcomes in educational, health-related and sanitation-related measures.
As Karnataka heads to the ticket distribution stage of its upcoming Assembly election (single phase on May 10), we are likely to revisit the murky tale of illicit campaign financing in politics. Karnataka has come to exemplify the post-liberalisation ‘crorepati-isation’ of Indian politics. In the last election, 97% of the elected State Members of the Legislative Assembly were crorepatis. According to a report by the election watchdog, the Association for Democratic Reforms, Karnataka legislators were also dubbed the highest earning Members of the Legislative Assembly in the country, based on average assets amounting to a staggering ₹34.59 crore.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi tries her hand at making a dosa in Mysuru while campaigning for Karnataka Assembly elections while Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah runs into Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai at Belagavi airport.
Congress will get an absolute majority and form the government in Karnataka. We are confident that we will make government on our own, says Yathindra Siddaramaiah, Congress leader and son of former CM Siddaramaiah.
PTIThe party is above any individual and no one should be in a hurry in the Congress, party president Mallikarjun Kharge said, in his first comments on the face-off between Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy, Sachin Pilot.
In over three decades of electoral politics in the State, the participation of women in voting has steadily improved with the gap between male and female electors having drastically reduced. While the gap between the male and female voting percentage was 6.84 points in 1989, it shrank to just 0.98 points in the elections held on Wednesday.
The elections to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, the results of which will be available in a few hours, have been tough to predict. While most exit polls have predicted a fractured mandate, long-time election observers on the ground have also been unable to predict despite a perceived anti-incumbency and corruption charges against the ruling BJP.
Exit polls on May 10 predicted a tight contest between the Congress and the BJP in the high-stakes Karnataka Assembly polls with most pollsters giving an edge to the grand old party.
India Today-Axis My India predicted a clear majority for the Congress with 122-140 seats in the 224-member Assembly and gave the BJP 62-80 seats. It gave 20-25 seats to the JD(S), the third major player in the race.
Amidst tight security and high levels of anxiety among party leaders and candidates, counting of votes polled in the elections to the State Legislative Assembly will be taken up on May 13. Most of the results will be known by noon. The polling for 224 seats took place on May 10, and the voter turnout was 73.19%.
Security arrangements have been tightened ahead of counting votes for the 224 seats in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections held on May 10.
There are adequate police personnel deployed as per plan at each strong room, counting hall and counting centre premises, DC Bengaluru Urban, Dayananda KA told ANI.
Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad Gurudatta Hegde has said that the counting of votes for the election to seven Assembly constituencies in Dharwad district is likely to conclude by afternoon on Saturday and the results would be announced immediately as per ECI guidelines.
The counting of votes for the aggressively contested Karnataka Assembly elections 2023 will be held on Saturday, three days after the voting concluded to elect the 224 members of the State Assembly.
ANI
As Karnataka heads to the ticket distribution stage of its upcoming Assembly election (single phase on May 10), we are likely to revisit the murky tale of illicit campaign financing in politics. Karnataka has come to exemplify the post-liberalisation ‘crorepati-isation’ of Indian politics. In the last election, 97% of the elected State Members of the Legislative Assembly were crorepatis.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai clarified that he had never said that the BJP would 150 seats, but expects the party to get a clear majority.
Speaking to mediapersons in Hubballi on May 11, he refused to respond to questions on the possibility of a hung Assembly, but insisted the BJP would get a clear majority. “During the 2018 Assembly elections, surveys indicated that Congress would win over 107 seats. However, when the results came, that was not the case,” he said.
The counting will begin at 8 a.m. in 36 centres across the State, and poll officials expect a clear picture of the outcome is likely to emerge by mid-day.
Elaborate security arrangements have been made across the State, especially in and around the counting centres, to avoid any untoward incidents, official sources said.
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