E-Paper
Karnataka polls: Congress leading with 45.4% vote share
Congress leads with 63 seats and 45.4% vote share, BJP on 42 seats with 38.2% and JD(S) on nine seats with 8.7% vote share in Karnataka elections.
The Congress was leading on 63 seats with a vote share of 45.4% as the counting of around 38 million votes polled for the 224-member Karnataka assembly was underway, according to the Election Commission of India ECI) website at 9:30am. The BJP was ahead on 42 seats with a vote share of 38.2% and Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S) on nine seats (8.7% vote share).
Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj S Bommai, who offered prayers at a temple in Hubballi, insisted the BJP will get an absolute majority and provide a stable government and all-inclusive development .
Congress leader Syed Naseer Hussain said there will be a clear mandate for the Congress. “I am expecting a landslide victory for the party.”
The BJP hoped to retain power in the only southern state it has ruled since 2019 even as exit polls suggested Congress has an edge following the polling on Wednesday when Karnataka recorded its the highest voter turnout ever. The state has voted out the incumbent over last three decades.
Two of the three states Congress rules on its own are due to go to the polls this year. If it wins Karnataka, it will be its biggest assembly election victory since December 2018 even as it returned to power in Himachal Pradesh last year.
