The result is close to being known as vote counting is underway on Tuesday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally blitz in the state poised to pay off. According to official Election Commission figures as of 16:11 pm, the BJP was leading in 26 seats and had won 78 seats, the Congress was leading in 30 seats and had won 48, the Janata Dal Secular was leading in 14 seats and had won 23, the Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janatha Party had won one seat, the Bahujan Samaj Party won one seat, and the independents were leading in one seat. Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah has submitted his resignation to the Governor of Karnataka. The Election Commission has deployed 16,662 personnel for counting of votes amid tight security. Meanwhile, four of the seven polling agencies predicted in their exit polls that the BJP would emerge as the single-largest party today. While most exit polls predicted a hung Asse mbly wit h the BJP a head, tw o said the BJP woul d either come very close to or cross the halfway mark of 112 seats, while the India Today- Axis exit poll said the Congress might bag a majority. All exit polls gave the H D Deve Gowda-led Jan ata Dal Secular nearly two dozen seats or more, which could make it the kingmaker if there is a hung Assembly. Top 10 developments on Karnataka election 2018 results: 1 The BJP could come up short of a majority on its own: According to official Election Commission figures as of 16:11 pm, the BJP was leading in 26 seats and had won 78 seats, the Congress was leading in 30 seats and had won 48, the Janata Dal Secular was leading in 14 seats and had won 23, the Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janatha Party had won one seat, the Bahujan Samaj Party won one seat, and the independents were leading in one seat. Karnataka election result 2018 Karnataka polls seat tally. Source: EC Why victory in Karnataka election is crucial for BJP: A BJP win would bring Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah a step closer to achieving their dream of a 'Congress-mukt' India. Currently, the BJP doesn't have a government in any of the five southern states. The win is also important for the BJP in the context of 2019. It w ould also e nsure that t he party w ould not be reduced to rulin g only o ne big state, t hat of Punj ab, in th e entire c ountry. ALSO READ: Karnataka election result LIVE updates 2 Congress backs JD-S after Karnataka delivers hung Assembly: In a dramatic turn of events after Karnataka delivered a hung Assembly, the Congress on Tuesday announced its backing to the Janata Dal-Secular JD-S to form a government to prevent the BJP from regaining power in its only southern bastion. As it became clear that the BJP might not cross the half-way mark, Congress leaders quickly got in touc h with the JD-S of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and his son and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy. Congress General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad told the media in the company of outgoing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah that the JD-S had accepted the Congress offer of support. They have accepted our offer. Hopefully, we will be together: Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress. ANI ANI CM Siddaramaiah enters the Governor's house in Bengaluru. KarnatakaElections2018 3:57 PM - May 15, 2018 162 55 people are talking about this Twitter Ads info and privacy Informed sources said the JD-S could get the Chief Minister's post in the event of a tie-up with the Congress. People rejected Congress' divisive politics, says BJP: With the BJP set to emerge as the single largest party in Karnataka, its leaders described today's Assembly poll results as an endorsement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's development agenda and claimed that the people had rejected the divisive, toxic and negative politics of the Congress. Buoyed by the emerging picture, Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad took a swipe at Congress president Rahul Gandhi, saying someone was dreaming of becoming the prime minister, a reference to Gandhi's statement during the Karnataka poll campaign that he was ready for the top post if his party won the 2019 Lok Sabha election. Prasad's cabinet colleague, Nirmala Sitharaman, said it was a historic day for the BJP and the results were an endorsement of Modi's development agenda. The people had rejected the divisive, toxic and negative politics of the Congress, she added. BJP should hold elections with ballot papers, says Uddhav Thackeray: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray today challenged the BJP to hold elections through ballot pa pers to clea r doubts over the u se of elect ronic voti ng machin es EVMs.
