Bengaluru: Both BJP and the Congress+Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) on Tuesday staked claim to form a government after the Karnataka election threw up a hung Assembly.
After meeting Governor Vajubhai Vala, the Congress declared that it was giving unconditional support to the JD-S, which finished third in the race for power in the state behind the BJP and the Congress.
Outgoing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said: “We have extended our support to the JD-S and conveyed our decision to the Governor.”
Counting of votes began on Tuesday in Karnataka’s 222 assembly constituencies amid tight security, an official said. “Vote counting began at 8 a.m. at 38 centres in 30 districts where 72.36 per cent of the 5.07 crore electorate polled across the state on Saturday, the Election Commission official told IANS here.
| PARTY | WIN/Loss | LEADS | WINS | 2013 |
| BJP | 104 | 0 | 104 | 40 |
| CONGRESS | 78 | 0 | 78 | 122 |
| JD(S) | 38 | 0 | 38 | 40 |
| OTHERS | 2 | 0 | 2 | 22 |
JD(S) & Congress have enough numbers to form the government. BJP cannot form the government without the numbers: M Veerappa Moily, Congress #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/LX7iqhj1U8
— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018
Entirely up to Guv to appoint anyone he thinks proper. He's expected to be guided by his assessment of who is likely to command majority support in the House. He's expected to appoint only that person as CM who is likely to command majority support:S Kashyap,Constitutional expert pic.twitter.com/ySsrFrKipF
— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018
100 percent we will form the government: BS Yeddyurappa #KarnatakaElections pic.twitter.com/06633TqFBv
— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018
JD(S)'s HD Kumaraswamy leaves for Raj Bhawan to meet Karnataka Governor in Bengaluru. pic.twitter.com/wHejf1Cyvh
— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018
Siddaramaiah submits his resignation to the Governor of Karnataka #KarnatakaVerdict pic.twitter.com/ay5biEnIM7
— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018
CM Siddaramaiah enters the Governor's house in Bengaluru. #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/JnVkshPO2B
— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018
Visuals from outside HD Deve Gowda's residence in Bengaluru. #KarnatakaElectionResults2018 pic.twitter.com/8v9rjEKY3E
— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018
Congress leader Ashwani Kumar tells news agency ANI, “I think we could not establish emotional connect with the people of Karnataka and the country. Perhaps, the Lingayat decision rebounded, no one single reason is responsible for defeat of the Congress.”
We (Congress & JDS) are jointly meeting the Governor in the evening today: KC Venugopal, Congress. #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/jUd5cVaSNu
— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018
Bengaluru: A Congress delegation led by G Parameshwara, who had gone to the Governor's House, did not get entry, turned back. #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/kR3D7DDCvh
— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018
“We had a telephonic conversation with Deve Gowda ji & Kumaraswamy. They have accepted our offer. Hopefully, we will be together,” says Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress.
The win in Karnataka is dedicated to all party workers. I also congratulate the people of Karnataka: UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/7Pyt9nXVRL
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) May 15, 2018
The Sangha Parivar cadres have helped us enormously. In certain regions, like coastal Karnataka, Parivar has helped us a lot: Ram Madhav, BJP pic.twitter.com/qVbGqy3g55
— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018
Rahul Gandhi did his best, but it is we who have lost the elections. We, the local leadership, should have en-cashed it in a proper way & because of which we lost it: DK Shivkumar, Karnataka Minister on #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/mTUCbrfO0V
— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018
I am saying it from day 1, there is no political party in India which has not raised questions on EVMs, even BJP has done it in the past. Now when all parties are doubting EVMs then what problem does BJP have in conducting polls through ballot?: Mohan Prakash,Congress pic.twitter.com/t70xtsaHoX
— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018
BJP workers celebrate outside party office in #Delhi as trends show the party is set to win #KarnatakaElectionResults2018. pic.twitter.com/uOznAJ6A7E
— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018
CM Siddaramaiah is trailing from Chamundeshwari by over 12,000 votes, JD(S) GT Deve Gowda leading. Siddaramaiah leading in Badami by over 160 votes. (File Pic) #KarnatakaElectionResults2018 pic.twitter.com/FL0K3hrjXN
— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018
BJP workers celebrate outside party office in #Bengaluru as trends show the party leading. #KarnatakaElectionResults2018 pic.twitter.com/utBwcXwBme
— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018
There is no question of alliance(with JDS) as we are already crossing 112 seats: Sadananda Gowda,BJP #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/Hi4ODkOaxo
— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018
JD(S)'s HD Kumaraswamy leading over the Congress candidate Iqbal Husaain by over 7000 votes in Ramanagara, he is also leading from Channapatna. #KarnatakaElections2018(File Pic) pic.twitter.com/NP741FOZm0
— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018
BJP CM Candidate BS Yeddyurappa leading from Shikaripura seat by 3420 votes over Congress's GB Malatesh (file pic) #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/tF8PZ6fGfA
— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018
Votes polled in 26 of the 28 Bengaluru’s urban and rural segments are being counted at four centres across the city. “The poll panel has deployed 16,662 personnel to count votes in each segment and declare the result after the process is completed,” noted the official. The Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) were the main contenders among other national, regional and fringe parties in the May 12 elections.
In all, 2,622 candidates, including 217 women contested for the seats, which had 36 reserved for Scheduled Castes and 15 for the Scheduled Tribes.
Election in Bengaluru’s Raja Rajeshwari (RR) Nagar was postponed to May 28 due to seizure of voter ID cards and countermanded in the city’s Jayanagar seat due to the death of BJP candidate and MLA B.N. Vijaya Kumar on May 4. Vote counting in RR Nagar will be taken up on May 31.