Congress’ D K Shivakumar has emerged as the winner in the Kanakapura seat in the Karnataka Assembly elections held on May 10, 2023. He was leading by over 20,500 votes against JD(S) leader B Nagaraju and BJP leader R Ashoka. The counting of votes began on Saturday and the parties are waiting anxiously to know their fate over the possibility of a hung assembly.
To secure power in Karnataka, any party will have to cross the halfway mark of 112. As per the official ECI result page, D K Shivakumar secured 25,406 votes, while B Nagaraju got 4,898 votes, and R Ashoka got 3,813 votes so far. The Congress Legislature Party meeting is slated to happen on Sunday as the party expects to form a government in Karnataka. The party has booked a resort in Hyderabad as a contingency plan.
Sources suggest that Plan A is for Congress to form a new government as soon as possible if they get a clear majority. Under Plan B, if there is no clear majority, the MLAs will be taken to Hyderabad. The Congress seems to be returning to power with a clear majority as it is leading on 119 seats, followed by the BJP on 72 seats, JD(S) on 25, and Others on 8, as per the official ECI trends.
The electoral fortunes of top leaders, including Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai of the BJP, Congress heavyweights Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar, and JD(S)’ HD Kumaraswamy, among many others, will be known today. Karnataka registered a “record” turnout of 73.19% in the voting on May 10, to elect representatives to the 224-member Assembly.
Most exit polls predicted a tight contest between the Congress and BJP, while the JD(S) appears to be expecting a hung verdict, which would enable it to play a role in government formation. Most pollsters have given an edge to the Congress over the ruling BJP, while also indicating the possibility of a hung Assembly in the state.
The ruling BJP is looking to break a 38-year-old poll jinx where the people have never voted the incumbent party to power, while the Congress is hoping for a morale booster victory to give it a much-needed elbow room and momentum to position itself as the main opposition player in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
It also remains to be seen whether former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda-led JD(S) will emerge as a “kingmaker” or a “king” by holding the key to government formation, in the event of a hung verdict, as it has done in the past.
Karnataka witnessed a three-cornered contest between the Congress, BJP, and JD(S) in most of the constituencies, as has been the trend for about the last two decades. The results of the election will have significant implications for the future of the state and the national political landscape.
