BENGALURU: All eyes are on Karnataka as counting of votes for the 224-member Assembly, that went for polls on May 10, started at 8 am 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 started at 8 am across 36 designated centres. A clear picture of the result is likely to emerge by noon.This Assembly election carries much significance as it was held almost a year before the 2024 general elections. The election witnessed an aggressive battle between the BJP , Congress, and the JD(S).
According to the Election Commission (EC), Karnataka recorded a 73.19 per cent voter turnout in the May 10 assembly elections, the highest-ever in the state. Polling was held across 58,545 polling stations to elect the members in the 224-seat Karnataka Legislative Assembly. The majority mark needed to form the government is 113.
Earlier on Friday, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai exuded confidence in Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) return to power in Karnataka. “There is no chance of a hung Assembly, we are going to form the government comfortably. Let him (DK Shivakumar) be happy with his 141 seats till tomorrow. We will have a legislature party meeting to decide the Chief Ministerial face,” Chief Minister Bommai told reporters.
Bommai on Friday held a key meeting with top Bharatiya Janata Party leaders from the state. The meeting was held at the residence of former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa in Bengaluru.
Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar also met with party president Mallikarjun Kharge at the latter’s residence in Bengaluru and held discussions on the party’s strategy once the results are declared.
“Exit polls have their own theory. We do not go by those samples, my sample size is too high and in that, we will have a comfortable majority. I do not know about JDS, let them take their own call. I do not have any backup plan, my only plan is that the Congress party will come to power,” Shivakumar said.
Congress general secretary in-charge Communications Jairam Ramesh said that BJP’s defeat in Karnataka will open Delhi’s door for Congress in 2024. “Congress’ victory in Karnataka is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s defeat because no one campaigned in Karnataka except him.
“After (BJP’s) Karnataka’s defeat, Delhi’s door is open for Congress in 2024. During the Bharat Jodo Yatra, we were there for 27 days in Karnataka and visited seven districts. We do not have any doubt. We will get majority votes. We have promised five guarantees in our manifesto and because of these guarantees Congress is guaranteed to win,” said Jairam Ramesh.
He also ruled out the possibility of a coalition government in Karnataka with the JD(S). “I am absolutely sure that JDS will disintegrate… This time I do not think that there is any scope for a coalition government with JDS,” added the Congress veteran.
Former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Thursday expressed confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party would secure an absolute majority and return to power for a second term to form government in the southern state.
Yediyurappa said, “I am 100 per cent confident that the BJP will secure an absolute majority and form the government”. His response came after exit polls predicted Congress’s edge over the BJP in Karnataka polls. The BJP leader refuted any possibility of a hung assembly.
With exit polls giving Congress an edge over the BJP in the Karnataka Assembly elections, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that the BJP will come to power with a “comfortable majority” as he was confident with the party’s ground reports.
Congress is expected to have a clear edge in Karnataka in the assembly elections held on Wednesday with four exit polls giving it a full majority and some predicting a hung assembly with an advantage to the party. A few exit polls also said that BJP is ahead and is likely to form the government. A party needs 113 seats for a majority in the 224-member Karnataka assembly. (ANI)