The state of Karnataka in India is gearing up for a significant political showdown as the voting for 224 assembly constituencies began at 7 am and will continue until 6 pm.
Around 5,31,33,054 eligible voters can cast their ballots in 58,545 polling stations across the state. The major political parties in contention are the BJP, Congress, and JD(S), and the majority mark required to form the government is 113 seats.
The campaigning for the elections was intense, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling for a high voter turnout, and the Congress party urging voters to vote wisely.
According to the Election Commission data, an 8.26% voter turnout was recorded in the first two hours of polling. The highest percentage was in the coastal district of Udupi at 13.28%, while the lowest was in Chamarajanagar district at 5.75% until 9 am.
Former Karnataka CM and Congress leader Siddaramaiah expressed confidence in his party’s victory, saying, “Congress will get 130 plus seats, it may go up to 150 seats also.” Meanwhile, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s daughter and BRS ( Bharat Rashtra Samithi ) MLC K Kavitha cast their votes for the Karnataka elections.
Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai expressed his confidence in his party’s victory, saying, “I am 100% confident that we will come back with a comfortable majority.” Former Karnataka CM and Congress candidate from Hubli-Dharwad Central Assembly constituency, Jagadish Shettar, also cast his vote and expressed his confidence in his party’s victory.
Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar asserted that the Congress party will form the government in the state with an absolute majority. “I appeal to people to vote for Congress,” said Shivakumar’s wife, who is also confident in her husband’s victory.
The BRS, which had earlier considered contesting the Karnataka polls, decided not to do so as its friendly party JD(S) is in the fray, and there was a lack of sufficient time for preparation ahead of the election. Overall, the Karnataka Assembly elections are high-stakes, and the results will have significant implications for the political landscape of the state.
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