Siddaramaiah to Yeddyurappa: Who said what in Karnataka elections
Karnataka election campaign was marked by leading political parties bitterly criticising each other.
Karnataka election results will be out in a few hours, hopefully bringing to an end an acrimonious campaign in which leading parties made personal attacks or promised schemes that will drain the state’s finances.

Also read: Track the Karnataka election results on our live blog and interactive maps that provide real-time data and analysis
Here’s a look at who said what ahead of election results on Tuesday:
Siddaramaiah, Karnataka chief minister, Congress
TV exit polls predicted a hung assembly, but Congress leader and chief minister Siddaramaiah rejected them as “entertainment”.
Siddaramaiah also hinted about his future in politics. “If the high command decides to make a Dalit the chief minister, I will give it the go ahead. But MLAs also have to give opinions,” he said.
BS Yeddyurappa, BJP’s chief minister candidate
Yeddyurappa struck a confident note on election day, announcing in his constituency Shikaripura his plans to make a trip to Delhi after the declaration of results to “invite the Prime Minister for the swearing-in ceremony”.
“The BJP will win 145-150 seats,” asserted the 75-year-old former chief minister, adding, “I will fly to Delhi on the 15th (May) once results for the Karnataka elections are announced and will meet Prime Minister Modi. I will invite him and others for the swearing-in ceremony which is going to happen most likely on the 17th (May).”
Deve Gowda, former prime minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader
Ahead of elections, former prime minister Deve Gowda told Hindustan Times in an interview he will not back Congress or the BJP in case the results throw up a hung assembly.
“We may get up to 70-75, even 80 seats... Those placing us in the third position will be surprised. I am hoping to be the number one party. The kingmaker’s dilemma won’t be for me.” said the 85-year-old leader whose party is likely to get 25-30 seats, according to exit polls.
Narendra Modi, Prime Minister, BJP
In his 21 rallies across Karnataka between May 1 and May 9, Modi focused on corruption and said the Congress did not care much for marginalised communities. “There is no place for Dalits in the heart of the Congress. The Congress has no respect for even Ambedkar,” he said.
On May 1, Modi accused Congress president Rahul Gandhi of lacking experience and challenged him to speak on the achievements of the Karnataka government for 15 minutes in any language, including his “mother’s mother tongue”.
Rahul Gandhi, Congress president
Gandhi said he is ready to be India’s prime minister if the Congress emerges as the largest party in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, acknowledging for the first time that he would be willing to take the country’s top job at a time when several Opposition parties are trying to cobble together a federal front against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Rahul attacked PM Modi, saying at a rally in Bengaluru, “In 10 days, the result will be clear. First, we will remove you from Karnataka. Then, from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh and finally, people will remove the BJP from India.”