Karnataka Elections 2023 Updates: Bengaluru police announce Section 144 on counting day

The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) has approved an average increase in consumer tariff of 70 paise per unit for all LT & HT categories, which accounts for overall increase by 8.31%, to bridge the approved revenue gap of Rs 4,457.12 crore.

The May 10 battle for Karnataka is important for more than one reason. For the Congress, it is a fight for survival, with the Karnataka result set to affect its fate in two of the only three states it holds power now, where elections are due later this year (Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan).

For both the Congress and BJP, a lot is at stake in Karnataka, where results will be declared Saturday. The state remains one of the only remaining bastions of the Congress. A win here would be a huge boost for it – Himachal Pradesh is the only state it has won since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The BJP, on the other hand, would want to hold on to the only southern state it currently enjoys power in. These are the five key contests on which all eyes will be trained Saturday -- read here

A day before counting in the Karnataka Assembly elections, political parties in the state, including the BJP, were busy discussing their post-results strategy. The BJP, which contested an election without an established chief ministerial face for the first time, is hoping to become the first ruling party in 38 years to return to power. But, most of the exit polls have kept the Congress in the lead.

On Friday, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai Bommai, his predecessor B S Yediyurappa, and other BJP leaders met in Bengaluru. A party source said they discussed the current situation and how to communicate it to the high command. A major thorn on the BJP’s side in the run-up to the elections was the allegations of corruption that the Opposition, especially the Congress, levelled against the Bommai government, and it may end up damaging its chances of being voted back. Here are the five things to look out for on counting day from the BJP’s perspective

The Karnataka election results will be declared on May 13. The state that went to voting on Wednesday recorded a voter turnout of 73.19 per cent – the highest in Karnataka since it was carved out when states were formed along linguistic lines in 1957. The previous highest was in 2018, when 72.1% of the electors had exercised their franchise.

Meanwhile, most of the exit polls gave the Congress a clear lead over the ruling BJP, with at least two pollsters predicting that it would win majority. Here is how to check live counting, results

Congress state president D K Shivakumar on Friday junked the exit poll results in which the party, though it gains the highest number of seats, has to contend with a hung Assembly. He insisted that the party will win at least 141 seats and form a majority government.

There was a wave in favour of the Congress, Shivakumar said, a day ahead of Saturday's counting of votes of the Assembly election. (PTI)

Traffic restrictions and no parking instructions were imposed around counting centres including Mount Carmel College, Vasanthanagar, St Joseph's Indian High School, BMS Ladies College, Basavangudi, SSMRV College, Tilaknagar and Akash International School, Devanahalli.

The Congress will not get the majority so they are trying to be in touch with other parties and they have no confidence in their legislators, said Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.

Talking to reporters here on Friday, the CM said that from the beginning he had been saying that the BJP will get an absolute majority. "We are confident that we will win and cross the magic number. We have got the ground report from all the booths and the constituencies".

Bommai said the high command has been apprised about the current situation in the state and even the leaders in Delhi are confident of the victory. At present, there's no question of any alliance as they are sure to get the absolute majority, he added.

A day ahead of counting of votes in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday expressed confidence about the BJP crossing the "magic figure" with a clear majority, and said the question of coalition talks with other political parties does not arise now.

Bommai today met BJP veteran B S Yediyurappa along with other party leaders, including ministers Murugesh Nirani, Byrathi Basavaraj, party MP Lehar Singh Siroya and A T Ramaswamy, at the former chief minister's residence. (PTI)

With the Assembly election results set to be declared on Saturday, Karnataka revenue minister R Ashok has said that the BJP will form the government even if it did not emerge as the single largest party. “Government formation is our 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,” Ashok told a TV news channel on Thursday.

In order to avoid any untoward incident on the day of counting of votes of the Karnataka Assembly election, the Bengaluru police Friday said Section 144 will be imposed in the entire district on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar denied having any alliance talks with the JD(S). "Exit polls have their own theory. We don't go by those samples, my sample size is too high and in that, we will have a comfortable majority. I do not know about JD(S), let them take their own call," he said, while talking to ANI, adding that he does not have any backup plan. "My only plan is that Congress party will come to power," Shivakumar said.

#WATCH | Exit polls have their own theory. We don't go by those samples, my sample size is too high and in that, we will have a comfortable majority. I do not know about JD(S), let them take their own call. I don't have any backup plan, my only plan is that Congress party will… pic.twitter.com/agJ551kIyb

— ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2023

Just a day to go before Karnataka Assembly election results are out, Janta Dal (Secular) spokesperson Tanveer Ahmed said the party has already decided on which party to align with to form the government in the state. Speaking to news agency ANI, Ahmed said: "We have already decided with whom we are going to form the government. We will announce it to the public when the appropriate time comes." Read more

#WATCH | We have already decided with whom we are going to form the government. We will announce it to the public when the appropriate time comes: JD(S) national spokesperson Tanveer Ahmed pic.twitter.com/rVaZ6kxSvD

— ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2023

With the final data released on Thursday by the Election Commission, polling for the Karnataka Assembly elections held Wednesday stood at 73.19% – the highest in Karnataka since it was carved out when states were formed along linguistic lines in 1957.

With the final data released on Thursday by the Election Commission, polling for the Karnataka Assembly elections held Wednesday stood at 73.19% – the highest in Karnataka since it was carved out when states were formed along linguistic lines in 1957.

Karnataka has set a new record for itself in terms of voter turnout during the 2023 state elections.

According to official data, the final voter turnout for the #KarnatakaElection2023 stood at an impressive 73.19%.

This is a significant increase compared to the voter turnout in the previous state election held in 2018, which was around 68%.

The impressive voter turnout is a positive indication of the growing importance of democracy and citizen participation in shaping the future of the state.

Despite exit polls predicting an edge for Congress in the Karnataka Assembly elections, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said he was confident that the BJP would get an absolute majority.

The Karnataka High Court Tuesday allowed hotels to serve cooked food for free or at reduced rates to people who had cast their votes in the state Assembly Elections.

In this case, the egg definitely came after the chicken. On poll eve Tuesday night, workers allegedly belonging to the BJP distributed saris and chicken to voters in the K R Pet Assembly constituency. On Wednesday, as the Congress got wind of it and came asking questions, villagers of Ganjigere in Bookanakere, the birthplace of BJP stalwart B S Yediyurappa, returned the “freebie” in kind.

BJP's national gneral secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh took to Twitter to denounce exit polls and say:

With due respects to all celebrity pollsters none of them predicted 282 in 2014 or 303 in 2019 or 156 in 2022. or 104 in 2018. In 2018 @BJP4Karnataka led in 24K booths with 0 leads in 14 ACs . This time we will lead in 31K booths with all ACs contributing. Numbers is your guess.

— B L Santhosh (@blsanthosh) May 11, 2023

The 2018 Assembly election results did not give any party a clear majority. After the results, the BJP was called to form the government as the single-largest party, with 104 MLAs in a House of 224. However, the Congress and JD(S) quickly came together and assembled 116 names (Congress 76, JD-S 37 and three Independents) to remove it.

Within a year, the tables were reversed, as the Congress-JD(S) lost 17 of their MLAs, who resigned from the Assembly — after being holed up in a resort in Mumbai leading up to it — and switched sides to the BJP. Karnataka BJP stalwart BS Yediyurappa became the Chief Minister but resigned on July 26, 2021. He was replaced by Basavaraj Bommai, who like Yediyurappa hails from the Lingayat community.

Read the full story here

With most of the exit polls giving the Congress an edge or even a clear majority in the 224-member Karnataka Assembly elections, even as some of them also predicted a hung House, the incumbent BJP led by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai rejected them, claiming that the saffron party would get the numbers to form the government in the state again.

As polling for the Karnataka Assembly elections concluded on Wednesday, most of the exit polls gave the Congress a clear lead over the ruling BJP, with at least two pollsters predicting that it would win majority. Most of the others projected that the Congress would hover around the halfway mark in the 224-member House. According to the projections, the JD(S) may get 20-odd seats. The party had won 37 seats in the 2018 elections. Read here

Good morning! Welcome to today's live blog. As polling in Karnataka concluded on Wednesday, we bring to you the latest updates from the state, including what exit polls are predicting ahead of the results on May 13. Stay tuned!

BJP: 62-80

Cong: 122-140

JDS: 20-25

Times Now-ETG: BJP: 85 | Congress: 113 | JD(S): 23

ABP-CVoter: BJP: 83-95 | Congress: 100-112 | JD(S): 21-29 | Others: 2-6

Jan Ki Baat: BJP: 94-117 | Congress: 91-106 | JD(S): 14-24 | Others: 0-2

Zee News Matrize: BJP: 79-94 | Congress: 103-118 | JD(S): 25-33 | Others: 2-5

TV9 Bharatvarsh-Polstrat: BJP: 88-98 | Congress: 99-109 | JD(S): 21-26| Others: 0-4

P-Marq-Republic: BJP: 85-100| Congress: 94-108 | JD(S): 24-32| Others: 2-6

BJP: 85

Cong: 113

JDS: 23

Congress is likely to sweep the Hyderabad-Karnataka region and may win on 32 seats, as per the India Today-Axis My India exit poll prediction.

The Congress is expected to win 17 seats, while the BJP may win 10 seats in the Bangalore region, as per the India Today-Axis My India exit poll prediction. 

So far, the poll of polls shows Congress will win 103 seats while BJP is projected to bag 94. No party is projected to be winning a clear majority

BJP: 66-86
Cong: 81-101
JDS: 20-27

The exit polls are out and with most predicting a hung Assembly, JD(S) may emerge as the kingmaker in the state for the second time in row. In 2018, JD(S) helped Congress form the government with HD Kumaraswamy becoming the chief minister.

According to Asianet Suvarna-Jan Ki Baat Exit Poll, BJP is expected to get 94 to 117 seats while Congress will win 91 to 106 seats. JD(S) is expected to remain a distant third with 14 to 24 seats.

The Times Now-ETG predicts 16 seats for BJP in coastal Karnataka, 3 for Congress. It has predicted 0 seats for JD(S) in the region

BJP: 79-94

Cong: 103-118

JDS: 25-33

BJP: 88-98

Cong: 99-109

JDS: 21-26

According to India Today-Axis My India exit poll, BJP is expected to win 16 out of 19 seats while Congress is expected to win just three seats.

Republic TV-P MARQ

BJP: 85-100
Cong: 94-108
JDS: 24-32

In 2013, the Congress had won 122 seats. The BJP and the JD(S) got 40 seats each, while Yediyurappa’s then Karnataka Jantha Paksha got 6 seats and B Sriramulu’s Badavara Shramikara Raitara Congress Party bagged 4.

The 2018 Assembly election results did not give any party a clear majority. After the results, the BJP was called to form the government as the single-largest party, with 104 MLAs in a House of 224. However, the Congress and JD(S) quickly came together and assembled 116 names (Congress 76, JD-S 37 and three Independents) to remove it.

Some common parameters for a good, or accurate, opinion poll would be a sample size that is both large and diverse, and a clearly constructed questionnaire without an overt bias. Sanjay Kumar, Director, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, has earlier written in The Indian Express, “Without a structured questionnaire, the data can neither be collected coherently nor be analysed systematically to arrive at vote share estimates.”

Political parties often allege that these polls are motivated, or financed by a rival party. Critics also say that the results gathered in exit polls can be influenced by the choice, wording and timing of the questions, and by the nature of the sample drawn.

A strong campaign led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, primarily using the development message, faux pas by the Congress, and Hindutva card was witnessed in the final stages of the canvassing.

Meanwhile, the Congress unveiled a set of five guarantees directed mainly at the poor, with the intent of tapping into the perceived widespread anger over the rising cost of living, including the price of cooking gas and fuel.

The JD(S), which is the main challenger to the Congress in south Karnataka and has a sporadic presence in other parts of the state, made its own set of promises such as the supply of five free LPG cylinders per year and the waiver of loans by self-help groups for women.

As the polling for the 224-seat Karnataka Assembly began at 7 am, a voter turnout of 65.59 per cent has been recorded till 5 pm, the Election Commission said. In 2018, the state had recorded a voter turnout of 72 per cent.

The News Nation poll predicted 99-108 for the BJP, 75-84 for the Congress, 31-40 for the JD(S), and 3-7 for others. The Karnataka-based Dighvijay-Vijayawani gave 103-107 seats to the BJP, 76-80 to the Congress, 31-35 to the JD(S), and 4-8 to others.

The India Today-Axis poll was the only one to predict victory for the Congress. The ruling party will get between 106 and 118 seats, it said, followed by the BJP with 79-92, JD(S) with 22-30, and others with 1-4.

The ABP-C Voter survey predicted 104-116 seats for the BJP, followed by 83-94 for the Congress, and 20-29 for the JD(S). NewsX-CNX predicted 102-110 seats for the BJP, 72-78 for the Congress, 35-39 for the JD (S), and 3-5 for others. The Republic-Jan ki Baat poll said the BJP would get 104, Congress 78, JD(S) 37, and others 3.

Times Now broadcast two exit polls. One, Times Now-VMR, gave the Congress a narrow lead; the other, Times Now-Today’s Chanakya, gave the BJP a clear majority. The Times Now-Chanakya poll said the BJP would get 120 seats. This was the only poll that predicted a majority for any party. The Congress, Times Now-Chanakya said, would get 73, JD(S) 26, and others 3. According to Times Now-VMR, however, the Congress will get 97 seats, and the BJP 94. The JD(S) will get 28, and others 3, it predicted.

Six out of eight major exit polls aired by six national television channels and one regional channel predicted that the BJP would get the largest number of seats in the new Assembly. But seven of these predicted a Hung assembly, with neither the BJP nor the Congress getting to the simple majority mark of 112 seats. All these polls suggested that the JD(S) would be kingmaker, with the party predicted to get between 20 and 40 seats.

The 2018 Assembly election results did not give any party a clear majority. After the results, the BJP was called to form the government as the single-largest party, with 104 MLAs in a House of 224. However, the Congress and JD(S) quickly came together and assembled 116 names (Congress 76, JD-S 37 and three Independents) to remove it.

Within a year, the tables were reversed, as the Congress-JD(S) lost 17 of their MLAs, who resigned from the Assembly — after being holed up in a resort in Mumbai leading up to it — and switched sides to the BJP. Karnataka BJP stalwart BS Yediyurappa became the Chief Minister but resigned on July 26, 2021. He was replaced by Basavaraj Bommai, who, like Yediyurappa, hails from the Lingayat community.

Good evening and welcome to our Live Blog where we will be tracking the exit polls for the Karnataka Assembly elections. Polling concluded today at 5 pm, with the state recording a voter turnout of over 65 per cent. Follow this space for all Exit Polls related news and analysis.