advertisement
The Congress party has made its final bid to keep the BJP out of power in Karnataka, offering the chief ministerial post to the JD(S). Will the JD(S) turn out to be third and lucky? But Yeddyurappa has staked a claim to government too. So, will the Governor accept JD(S) and Cong's claim or BJP's?
Here are the leads:
JD(S) has accepted the Congress’ offer for a post-poll alliance. The parties have met the Governor to stake their claim to government formation.
So could this man become the state’s next Chief Minister?
Is a Congress-JD(S) government likely now?
The Congress party has formally announced that they have offered the chief ministerial post to the JD(S). The two parties’ tally stands at 116 seats, 4 more than the magic number of 112 to form the government. The BJP is currently leading in 104 seats.
Siddaharamaiah will tender his resignation to the Karnataka governor at 4 PM. There are speculations that the Congress and JD(S) might forge a post-poll alliance. Reports claim that the Congress is willing to give up on the chief ministerial post.
Media reports are claiming that the Congress has reached out to the JD(S) to form the government in Karnataka. However, BJP says it’s confident of forming the government on its own.
The Congress party has been able to guard its 2013 vote share of 37%, but the BJP has gained by 16%, taking its total share to above 36%. Even the JD(S) has added 2% to its earlier share of 20%.
In 17 seats with over 30% Muslim population, the BJP is leading in 9 seats, followed by the Congress in 7, and JD(S) 1 seat. Experts opine that the Muslim vote might have been split between Congress and JD(S), giving the BJP an edge.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, for the first time since morning, has crossed the magic number of 112. The saffron party is leading in 114 seats and is in pole position to form the government.
The BJP has turned the tables on Congress in the Mumbai Karnataka region. The Congress party, which had won 30 seats in 2013, has lost almost half of its previous tally. The BJP is currently leading in 31 seats.
While most exit polls threw up a hung verdict, the BJP seems to be making huge strides towards the magical figure of 113. None of the exit polls predicted more than 40 seats for the JD(S), but the Dewe Gowda-led party has taken everyone by surprise with its performance. The JD(S) is leading in 46 seats.
In urban Bengaluru, the Congress is leading in 11 seats, the BJP is ahead in 10, followed by the JD(S) that lead in 3 seats.
Early trends show that Karnataka is living up to its image of not voting an incumbent government back to power. However, it might be too early to suggest that Karnataka is voting the Congress out of power.
In Dalit-dominated areas, the Congress currently leads in 11 seats, the JD(S) in 5, and the BJP in 3 seats. The Congress had, in 2013, won 17 of the 36 reserved seats while the JD(S) got 9, and the BJP 6.
Dalits account for around 24% of the electorate in Karnataka. That’s roughly one in every four voters.
In the months leading up to the election, the Siddaramaiah government granted the Lingayats the status of a separate religion. But could the move backfire for the Congress?
In southern Karnataka, the Janata Dal (Secular) leads in 16 seats, followed by the Congress in 12, and the BJP in 2 seats.
Parliamentarian Swapan Dasgupta tells CNN-News18 that in his opinion, the Congress campaign peaked too early in Karnataka, and when Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit back, he left an impact on the electorate.
Counting of votes has begun at 40 centres across Karnataka after the state went to polls in one of the most unpredictable state elections on Saturday last week. Billed as the vital precursor to the state elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chattisgarh, Karnataka results are also expected to set the tone for the big showdown in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
From 1977 to 2018, that’s 41 years, only two Chief Ministers in Karnataka have completed a full term. SM Krishna from October 1999 to May 2004 and Siddaramaiah from May 2013 to May 2018.
In 2004, back in the days when Siddaramaiah was a JD(S) leader, Deve Gowda got him appointed to the post of Deputy CM in Dharam Singh’s government. One year later, though, Deve Gowda had Siddaramaiah removed, seemingly to ensure that he would not pose a challenge to Kumaraswamy taking charge of the party.
Close to a decade later, Siddaramaiah went on to realise his ambition of becoming CM, though only after he jumped ship to the Congress.
On the campaign trail, the Congress has accused the JD(S) of being “Janata Dal (Sanghi)” but Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy know very well that they will be ‘Karnataka’s Most Desirable’ if neither the Congress nor the BJP can reach the magic figure of 113 in the 224-member Assembly.
BS Yeddyurappa, the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate, was in the eye of a storm throughout the election campaign in Karnataka because of allegations of widespread corruption under his watch when he was the chief minister.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)
Published: 15 May 2018,07:42 AM IST