Today marks the vote counting day for the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections, and the early trends suggest that Congress is leading in 114 constituencies, while the BJP is leading in 83, the Janata Dal (Secular) in 24, and independents in three seats. According to Public TV, former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy is trailing in Channapatna with BJP’s CP Yogeshwar leading in the second round, and mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy, who was accused of large-scale corruption, is leading in Gangavathi.
Congress sitting MLA from Yamakanmardi, Satish Jarkiholi, is leading in the segment, while his brother Ramesh Jarkiholi from BJP is trailing in Gokak, TV9 reported. The former orchestrated a coup to bring down the Congress-JD(S) coalition government in 2019. Former Congress Minister MB Patil is leading in Babaleshwar, who was defeated in the 2018 elections due to his support for a separate Lingayat religion. In Bengaluru, Mahadevapura MLA Aravind Limbavali’s wife Manjula Limbavi is trailing, while former Congress Minister Krishna Byre Gowda is leading in Byatarayanapura.
It’s worth noting that a party needs 113 seats to form the government out of the 224 seats in the Karnataka Assembly. The 2018 Assembly elections resulted in a fractured mandate, with the BJP emerging as the single largest party by winning 104 seats. The Congress won 78 seats, and the JD(S) picked up 37 seats. BS Yediyurappa was invited to form the government and was sworn in as Chief Minister. However, he stepped down three days later, just before the trust vote. The Congress and JD(S) then came together to form the coalition government with HD Kumaraswamy as Chief Minister.
This government lasted for only 13 months, when 17 MLAs belonging to the Congress and the JD(S), led by Ramesh Jarkiholi, defected to the BJP in July 2019. The BJP’s numbers in the Assembly increased to 120 seats, while Congress was reduced to 69, and JD(S) to 32. Yediyurappa returned as CM, but he stepped down in 2021 and was replaced by Basavaraj Bommai.
This time, the Congress campaign focused on the failings of the incumbent BJP, while the BJP invoked the personality of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the power of a ‘double engine’ government. The JD(S) appealed for a rejection of both national parties. The election results will determine the future of Karnataka’s politics.
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