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Karnataka gears up for high-stakes poll verdict
Police commissioner Pratap Reddy imposed prohibitory orders in Bengaluru from 6am to midnight on Saturday. Sale of liquor has been banned on Saturday.
Roughly 38 million votes across 224 seats in Karnataka will be counted on Saturday, bringing the curtain down on a high-stakes election season that saw pitched political battles and the southern state’s highest turnout.
With hours to go for the counting of votes, all three major parties – the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) – went into a huddle. The BJP is looking to retain power in the only southern state under its control but the exit polls give an edge to the Congress. In a tight election, the JD(S) could emerge kingmaker, like it did in 2018. For nearly four decades, the state has voted out the incumbent.
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BJP minister R Ashoka said that the party will cross the majority and had an alternative plan if it did not do so. “Our Plan B is different. We are not in a hurry. We will see the result and decide,” the minister said, adding that the final decision will be made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah.
In another interview, he said government formation was the party’s objective. “Don’t ask how or what we will do. We will definitely win and get a majority. But even if it is a hung assembly, we will form the government…we have already done this twice in Karnataka,” the minister added.
A senior BJP official said the party held a meeting in Bengaluru and requested the leadership for Shah to fly down to Bengaluru on Saturday evening if no party got a majority. “There is a sense that no party would get the majority. So, a plan is being devised to tackle such a situation. The decision on this will be made by the central leadership, the state leadership doesn’t have a big role here,” said the official, requesting anonymity.
Karnataka Elections: Decoding narratives that may shape results
The Congress strategy session focussed on keeping its lawmakers together after the election results were announced. Hectic parleys were on at Congress president M Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence in Bengaluru, with general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala, state unit chief D K Shivakumar and former deputy chief minister G Parameshwara in attendance, among others.
People in the know of developments said that elected Congress legislators will stay at a resort identified by senior party leaders until the government was formed. Despite exit polls projecting Congress as the single-largest party, leaders are also preparing to deal with a hung assembly and have sent feelers to JD(S), said a senior leader.
“Operation lotus originated and was mastered in Karnataka. If you go through the political history of our state, it is a black mark. So, we have to be careful and we have to keep our flock together,” said Congress leader Priyank Kharge.
Leaders from both said there was a possibility of joining hands with the JD(S). Congress lawmaker Satish Jarkiholi on Friday said that HD Kumaraswamy is in favour of the Congress forming the government. Speaking to reporters in Belagavi, the Congress candidate from Yemkanmardi said: “There won’t be a hung assembly — 100%. In case, there is one, Kumaraswamy has said… the Congress will form the government in the state.”
MP Renukacharya, the BJP legislator from Honnali constituency in Davanagere district, said that an alliance with the JD(S) could not be ruled out. “If such a situation emerges, an alliance might happen with the JD(S),” he told reporters. “Our national leaders will decide if any need for an alliance arises. That situation might also arise. That will be decided after the results,” he added.
The JD(S), however, distanced itself from comments made by Tanveer Ahmed, a former spokesperson who said that the party had already decided on whom it will align with. Karnataka JD(S) president CM Ibrahim told reporters that Ahmed was no longer a spokesperson for the party. “We have not decided on an alliance with any party. Tanveer Ahmed is claiming that he is a party spokesperson and told the media that the decision on the alliance is made. Let me clarify that he is not with the JD(S) anymore, and his comments are baseless. We will wait for tomorrow’s result,” Ibrahim said.
Final preparations were on in Bengaluru. District electoral officer (DEO) Tushar Girinath said that 14 observers from the Election Commission of India (ECI) had arrived in Bengaluru. “Postal ballots will be counted first. There are nearly 18,000-20,000 postal ballots for Bengaluru. Following that, Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) will be opened,” Girinath said.
Police commissioner Pratap Reddy imposed prohibitory orders in Bengaluru from 6am to midnight on Saturday. Sale of liquor has been banned on Saturday.
“The sentiment on the ground and exit polls suggest there could be a decision in favour of the Congress. There have been no instances in the past, where the Congress has become the single largest party and has not formed the government,” said political analyst Sandeep Shastri.
Karnataka is important for the BJP because it’s the only southern state under the party’s control and one where the party invested significant resources to beat back challengers. For the Congress, the stakes are also high. Two of the three states it runs on its own go to the polls this year, and if it wins Karnataka, it will be its biggest assembly election victory since December 2018. The JD(S) largely focussed on retaining its stronghold of Old Mysuru and safeguarding its traditional vote base, the Vokkaligas.
