Bengaluru: The sudden turn of political events in Karnataka has dashed the hopes of BJP chief minister aspirant BS Yeddyurappa, who derided the new-found friendship between the Congress and the JD(S) as an attempt to "grab power though the people had rejected Congress".
The BJP was nicely cruising towards the majority mark in early counting but it now looks the party will fall well short of the majority of 112 seats. It had managed 104 seats till early evening.
The Congress has offered outside support to the JD(S) to form government and keep the saffron party out of power.
According to reports, the Congress is ready to make JD(S) chief HD Deve Gowda's son HD Kumarawamy the chief minister.
Here are LIVE updates of Karnataka Assembly elections 2018 results:
09:25 pm: HD Deve Gowda reaches Ashoka Hotel for meeting with senior Congress leaders in Bengaluru.
HD Deve Gowda arrives to meet senior Congress leaders. (Photo: ANI/Twitter)
08:45 pm: Congress president Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter to thank party workers and the people who voted for Congress. He said, "A big thank you to all those who voted for the Congress in these elections. We appreciate your support and will fight for you. Thank you also to our workers and leaders for their dedication & untiring hard work in support of the party."
08:13 pm: I wish all party workers, Amit Shah and all the leaders gathered here a hearty congratulations: PM Modi concludes speech
08:11 pm: G Parameshwara of Congress to be the Deputy Chief Minister of Karnatak, says Baiju Narajan, Janata Dal (Secular)
08: 10 pm: I congratulate the party workers for their tireless efforts: PM Modi
08:08 pm: Language never became a barrier while campaigning in Karnataka. The people of Karnataka sat in scorching heat for rallies and did not mind. I want to congratulate the people: PM Modi
08:05 pm: I am happy about Karnataka's victory but on the other hand, I am saddened by the loss of lives in Varanasi. I extend my condolences to the families of the deceased and assure that the government will do whatever it can to support these families: PM Narendra Modi
08:04 pm: PM Modi offers his deepest condolences to the families who have lost their beloved ones.
08:02 pm: PM Modi speaks about Varanasi flyover crash. Says he spoke to UP CM Yogi Adityanath and rescue operations are underway
08:00 pm: PM Modi addresses the crowd
07:55 pm: Amit Shah talks about the issue of "fake" voter IDs found in Bengaluru. In 2019 we will not only form the govt under the leadership of Modi Ji but also form a New India in 2022
07:54 pm: Congress tried to divide castes and played the Lingayat card in Karnataka elections
07:52 pm: Amit Shah while addressing party workers says, "This is the 15th election. BJP has already won the last 14 elections. This is the 15th consecutive election where BJP is going to win."
07:50 pm: BJP Parliamentary Board meeting at BJP headquarters in New Delhi begins
07:17 pm: Here's the party-wise vote share of political parties that contested Karnataka polls:
(Photo: eciresults.nic.in)
06:34 pm: Following the mandate, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, “I thank my sisters and brothers of Karnataka for steadfastly supporting the BJP’s development agenda and making BJP the single largest party in the state. I salute the stupendous work of @BJP4Karnataka Karyakartas who toiled round the clock and worked for the party.”
I thank my sisters and brothers of Karnataka for steadfastly supporting the BJP’s development agenda and making BJP the single largest party in the state. I salute the stupendous work of @BJP4Karnataka Karyakartas who toiled round the clock and worked for the party.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 15, 2018
06:32 pm: BJP chief Amit Shah thanked his people of Karnataka after the mandate and also congratulated party workers
I thank people of Karnataka for voting BJP as the single largest party. This mandate clearly reflects that Karnataka has rejected Congress's corruption, dynastic politics and divisive casteism.
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 15, 2018
I congratulate each & every Karyakarta of @BJP4Karnataka unit and Shri B S Yeddyurappa ji for their relentless efforts. Like rest of the nation, the great land of Karnataka has shown their unwavering trust in PM @narendramodi’s clean, transparent and pro-development governance.
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 15, 2018
06:09 pm: Congress and JD(S) have the numbers and the Governor will take the decision according to the law of the land, said Siddaramaiah
06:03 pm: Talking to the media, Siddaramaiah said JD(S) and Congress have handed over letter to the Governor saying that Congress is ready to support JD(S) in forming the government in the state
06:02 pm: "Congress has taken decision to support JDS. JDS will be able to form the govt with the help of Congress," Siddaramaiah
05:51 pm: "JD(S) and Congress have enough numbers to form the government. BJP cannot form the government without the numbers," said M Veerappa Moily
05:48 pm: JD(S) legislative party meeting called at 6:15 pm today in Bengaluru
05:42 pm: HD Kumaraswamy, Siddaramaiah, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikarjun Kharge waits at Raj Bhawan in Bengaluru. To meet Karnataka Governor shortly
05:39 pm: HD Kumaraswamy, Siddaramaiah, Ghulam Nabi Azad, DK Shivakumar and other Congress MLAs inside Karnataka Raj Bhawan
(Photo: ANI/Twitter)
05:26 pm: "We have met the Governor as we are single largest party, and have asked him to allow us to prove majority in the Karnataka Assembly," said BS Yeddyurappa
05:10 pm: “100 per cent we will form the government” said BS Yeddyurappa as he is scheduled to meet Karnataka Governor in some time
05:08 pm: JD(S)' HD Kumaraswamy leaves for Raj Bhawan to meet Karnataka Governor in Bengaluru
04:55 pm: "I have taken an appointment with Karnataka Governor for 5 pm. We should be forming the govt as we are the single largest party," said BJP chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa
04:38 pm: "I am here with our independent MLA. The independent MLA Nagesh and others MLAs are with us. We have the numbers. We want a secular govt in Karnataka," Congress leader DK Shivakumar said
04:20 pm: HD Kumaraswamy sought an appointment from the Governor of Karnataka for today evening.
In a letter, Kumaraswamy wrote that JD(S) has accepted Congress' support to form government in Karnataka
(Photo: ANI/Twitter)
04:12 pm: Siddaramaiah submits his resignation to Karnataka Governor
04:10 pm: Addressing a press conference at BJP’s Karnataka office, BS Yeddyurappa said despite being rejected Congress is trying to grab power in the state
He added, “People of Karnataka have voted for change. People of the state have given mandate for a Congress-free Karnataka”
Yeddyurappa also thanked his party workers and karyakartas who have helped the party achieve the mandate in the state
He added, “Congress is trying to come to power through back door, people will not tolerate this.”
Talking about the BJP’s future course of action, Yeddyurappa said that the decision will be taken after consultation with leadership
(Photo: ANI/Twitter)
03:31 pm: A Congress delegation led by G Parameshwara, who had gone to the Governor's House, did not get entry, turned back
(Photo: ANI/Twitter)
03:29 pm: "Wait and watch, the cup will be ours," said JD (S) MLC Saravana
03:15 pm: "Shortly we will be knowing the final figures, then we'll decide the future plan. I don't want to talk about Congress or JD(S)," said BS Yeddyurappa
03:03 pm: "We (Congress and JDS) are jointly meeting the Governor in the evening today," Congress leader KC Venugopal said
02:57 pm: "We had a telephonic conversation with Deve Gowda ji and Kumaraswamy. They have accepted our offer. Hopefully, we will be together" senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said
(Photo: ANI/Twitter)
02:55 pm: "We accept the mandate of the people. We bow our heads to the verdict. We don’t have numbers to form government. The Congress has offered to support JD(S) to form government," said Congress leader G Parameshwara
02:38 pm: UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath says, "The win in Karnataka is dedicated to all party workers. I also congratulate the people of Karnataka."
01:49 pm: BJP CM Candidate BS Yeddyurappa wins from Shikaripura seat by 35,397 votes
01:38 pm: "Many Congress people have won the election, you cannot write-off the Congress. It is, maybe, a set back for Congress, we will find out what is the cause of the setback," said Karnataka Minister KJ George
01:10 pm: Dinesh Gundu Rao, Working President of Karnataka Congress leading from Gandhi Nagar constituency by 6143 votes over his JDS rival V Narayanasamy
12:50 pm: "This is the third straight defeat of Rahul Gandhi since he became Congress president. He declared himself the PM candidate. Now if all opposition wants to unite toh hamare liye bhi ye theek hai ki desh ki jitni gandagi hai vo ek saath hate (then it is also good for us that the entire filth is removed together), said Union Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore
12:36 pm: "I would like to thank the people of Karnataka for this mandate. Also, credit goes to the hard work of PM Modi and Amit Shah ji, as well as state leadership, party workers and RSS cadre. BJP's southward march has begun. The Sangha Parivar cadres have helped us enormously. In certain regions, like coastal Karnataka, Parivar has helped us a lot," said BJP leader Ram Madhav
12:03 pm: Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad and Nirmala Sitharaman celebrate at party headquarters in Delhi
(Photo: ANI/Twitter)
11:42 am: "People of Karnataka want good governance, that is why they have chosen BJP. This is a big victory for the party. Congress is losing state after state and we are winning state after state," said BJP Karnataka in-charge Prakash Javadekar
11:31 am: "Rahul Gandhi did his best, but it is we who have lost the elections. We, the local leadership, should have en-cashed it in a proper way and because of which we lost it," said Karnataka minister DK Shivkumar
11:15 am: BJP workers celebrate outside party office in Delhi as trends show the party is set to win Karnataka Assembly election
(Photo: ANI/Twitter)
11:09 am: "People have rejected Siddaramaiah. He lost because of his attitude, because of attacking everyone & because of his loose talk," said GT Devegowda, JD(S) candidate who is leading over Siddaramaiah in Chamundeshwari by 17,000 votes
10:55 am: "This is a historic win for BJP. I want to thank all the people of Karnataka for voting for us. Ab desh mein Congress khojo abhiyan chalega, kahaan rahegi pata nahi," Raman Singh, Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh said
10:15 am: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah is trailing from Chamundeshwari by over 12,000 votes, JD(S) GT Deve Gowda is leading. Siddaramaiah leading in Badami by over 160 votes
10:06 am: BJP workers celebrate outside party office in Bengaluru as trends show the party leading
09:57 am: "There is no question of alliance (with JDS) as we are already crossing 112 seats," BJP leader Sadananda Gowda said
09:51 am: "Correct position will be known at 11-11:30 am. I am going to discuss it (possibility of alliance with JDS) with Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot," Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said
09:40 am: JD(S)' HD Kumaraswamy leading over the Congress candidate Iqbal Husaain by over 7,000 votes in Ramanagara, he is also leading from Channapatna
09:37 am: Karnataka minister DK Shivakumar leading over JDS' Narayana Gowda by 2729 votes from Kanakpura
09:28 am: BJP chief minister candidate BS Yeddyurappa leading from Shikaripura seat by 3,420 votes over Congress' GB Malatesh
09:16 am: “These are initial trends, we hope Congress will form the government in Karnataka and are confident of it, but yes all options (allying with JDS) are open,” Congress leader Ashok Gehlot said
09:03 am: HD Kumaraswamy leading over the Congress candidate by 1,552 votes in Ramanagara
08:55 am: BJP's Chief Ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa offered prayers, earlier today ahead of the counting of votes
(Photo: ANI/Twitter)
08:24 am: EVMs have been opened across counting centres in Karnataka
(Photo: ANI/Twitter)
08:03 am: Counting of votes begin in Karnataka
08:02 am: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's younger son Dr Yathindra Siddaramaiah is contesting from safe seat Varuna. He said, "Senior party leaders will decide on this (on possibility of post-poll alliance with JDS), but we are confident and hope to form Government on our own"
07:55 am: Congress workers performed 'havan' outside AICC office in Delhi, ahead of counting of votes
(Photo: ANI/Twitter)
07:50 am: JDS' HD Kumaraswamy offers prayers at Adichunchanagiri Mahasamsthana Math in Nagamangala ahead of counting of votes. Kumaraswamy is contesting from Ramanagara and Channapatna constituencies
(Photo: ANI/Twitter)
07:34 am: B Sriramulu, one of the most prominent candidates fielded by the BJP in the Karnataka election is seen praying before the counting begins. The 46-year-old parliamentarian from Bellary is contesting against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Sriramulu is extremely close to the Reddy brothers, and their association has stayed intact through the ups and downs with the BJP
(Photo: ANI/Twitter)
07:32 am: 50,000 police personnel deployed across 38 counting centres in state, 11,000 in Bengaluru alone. 1 Rapid Action Force (RAF) company and 20 Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) companies also deployed in Bengaluru
(Photo: ANI/Twitter)
07:30 am: “We have deployed Central Armed Police Forces(CAPF) in strong rooms, adequate security personnel presence will be there at all counting centres to ensure law and order is maintained,” OP Rawat,Chief Election Commissioner
06:40 am: Karnataka election results: Key names and faces:
Siddaramaiah, Chief Minister, Congress
BS Yeddyurappa, chief ministerial candidate of BJP
HD Deve Gowda, Janata Dal (Secular)
HD Kumaraswamy, Janata Dal (Secular)
BR Sriramulu, BJP
06:37 am: Extensive arrangements have put in place to ensure free, fair and smooth counting of votes. There are 38 counting centres in 30 districts in Karnataka, including five in Bengaluru. Security has been tightened around all the strong rooms where the electronic voting machines (EVMs) have been kept
(Photo: ANI/Twitter)
Postal ballots will be counted first before the electronic voting machines are opened.
