Will form government in Karnataka on May 17, says confident Yeddyurappa

Bengaluru: As over five crore people of Karnataka step out of their houses today to vote for a new government in the state, BS Yeddyurappa, BJP's chief ministerial candidate, exuded confidence that his party will form the new government in Karnataka on May 17 after thumping victory.

BS Yeddyurappa is the BJP candidate from Shikaripura.

Talking to reporters after casting his vote early on Saturday, he laid out a "post-win" schedule.

"I will fly to Delhi on the 15th once the results are announced and meet Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi. I will invite him and others for the swearing in ceremony which is going to happen most likely on the 17th," he declared.

BJP's chief ministerial candidate, BS Yeddyurappa also projected that his party would win between 145 and 150 seats in the 224-member assembly. Two of the seats are not voting today.

"I have toured the entire state three times and am 100 per cent confident that we will win by a big margin. You all will see for yourselves this evening what the exit polls say," said Yeddyurappa adding that the people were fed up of the Congress government led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said that BJP is just dreaming to form the government in Karnataka. "We are confident. BJP will not win more than 60-70 seats maximum, forget getting 150. They are just dreaming of forming the Government," Kharge told news agency ANI.

BS Yeddyurappa, 75, was chief minister when the BJP took power in Karnataka in 2008, forming its first government in the south.

He was forced to step down as chief minister in 2011 in a blaze of corruption allegations. Months after he quit, he was jailed after being charged by the state's anti-corruption official, Santosh Hegde, in a land scam. He spent 22 days in prison.

After contesting separately in 2013 - a divided BJP lost power to the Congress – and Yeddyurappa returned to the BJP in early 2014, just before the general election.