Vote counting for the crucial Karnataka assembly elections of 2023 has begun as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seeks to maintain power in the state against formidable opposition from the Congress in the year’s first significant poll. Exit polls indicated that the election would be tight, with the Congress emerging as the largest party but falling short of the 113-seat threshold. The state’s chief electoral officer reported that 73.19% of eligible voters turned out to vote in Karnataka’s single phase of voting on Wednesday.

2018 saw neither party win a clear majority. Therefore, Congress and the JD (S) attempted to work together. B.S. Yediyurappa, a BJP strongman, staked his claim and established the administration, but it was only temporary as it was overthrown three days later, just before a vote on a trust motion. Yediyurappa was unable to gather the needed numbers. Following this, the Congress-JD(S) combination formed the government with Kumaraswamy as chief minister; however, the government disintegrated in 14 months as a result of the resignation of 17 members of the ruling coalition, who later joined the BJP and helped it regain power.

In 2018, the BJP became the only party to gain more than 100 seats, followed by the Congress with 80 seats and the JD(S) with 37. In the 2018 elections, the BJP came in second with 36.22 percent of the vote, followed by the JD (S) with 18.36 percent. In Karnataka, it has been a trend for two decades. The state is currently seeing yet another three-cornered electoral struggle, with the BJP, Congress, and JD(S) engaged in a direct contest in the majority of the constituencies. The JD (S), which is led by former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, could become the “kingmaker” or “king” in the case of a hung assembly, as indicated by exit polls. The party has previously done this as well.

Full List Of Constituencies And Winning Candidates

The polling data is seen as a predictor of the general elections that will take place in 2024. Both the Congress and the BJP are engaged in a high-stakes conflict. The Congress hasn’t won a single state election since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, with the exception of Himachal Pradesh. Karnataka is the only southern state where the BJP has political power. It is anticipated that the results will be clear by this afternoon, and they will be posted here in real time.