Congress has crossed the halfway mark and seems on course to breach archrival BJP’s lone southern citadel Karnataka. In the 224-seat Karnataka assembly, a party needs to win 113 seats to form the government. The Congress has already raced ahead on 119 seats, while the BJP is leading on 72. The electoral fortunes of top leaders– Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai of the BJP, Congress heavyweights Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar and JD(S)’ HD Kumaraswamy, among many others will be decided today.
Former CM Jagadish Shettar, who quit the BJP after being denied to contest in the May 10 polls for the 224-member Assembly, was trailing in Hubballi-Dharwad Central by 2,614 votes. He was fielded there by the Congress.
Most exit polls had given an edge to the Congress over the ruling BJP, while also indicating the possibility of a hung Assembly in the state. The JD(S) is expecting for a hung verdict, which would enable it to play a role in government formation.
