Congress crosses 113-seat majority mark required to form government in Karnataka

Four hours into the counting, the Congress continued to hover over the halfway mark in Karnataka with the party leading in 124 seats, EC trends showed. A party needs to attain the magic number of 113 to form a government in the state.

The voting passed off peacefully in Karnataka with a voting turnout of 73.19 per cent, surpassing the 72.36 per cent recorded in 2018, according to ANI data. A total of 737 Theme-based and ethnic Model Polling stations were set up. At 239 Polling stations set up in the state, voters were greeted by PwD staff.

Janata Dal (Secular), the third-ranked party, has been increasing its tally of such seats, retained most of them in last three elections

Chhattisgarh Assembly Elections Results 2023: As per the latest Election Commission data, the BJP won 54 assembly constituencies out of a total of 90. The Congress bagged 35 assembly seats.

BJP secured a whopping victory in Rajasthan with 115 seats out of the total 199-member assembly. | Latest News India

Of 36 SC-reserved constituencies, 21 go to Congress; party sweeps ST-reserved seats by winning 14 of 15

In Karnataka, the Congress' vote share rose marginally to 38 per cent in the 2018 assembly elections from 36.6 per cent in 2013 but its tally fell from 122 to 78. On the other hand, BJP's vote share was marginally lower than that of Congress but at 36.2 per cent it recorded the highest so far and also managed to bag more seats at 104, though it fell short of nine seats for a comfortable majority in a House of 224. The BJP had won 40 seats in 2013 state elections.

The tenure of four Rajya Sabha members from the state -- Syed Nasir Hussain, G C Chandrashekhar and L Hanumanthaiah of the Congress and Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar of the BJP -- ends in 2024.

The Election Commission will announce the schedule for assembly elections in five states today. The elections will be held in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana, and Mizoram. The upcoming state polls will be a major test for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after its defeat in the Karnataka assembly elections earlier this year. The Lok Sabha polls are also due next year. The Congress is currently in power in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, while the BJP rules Telangana and Madhya Pradesh.

DK Shivakumar, who was leading from Kanakapura against BJP's R Ashoka, turned emotional while reacting to the election results. | Latest News India