Bengaluru: The counting of votes for the high stake Karnataka assembly elections 2023 is underway as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) looks to retain control of the state in the face of a strong challenge from the Congress in the first big election of this year.
The Congress has crossed the halfway mark in early leads as votes are being counted for the Karnataka election today. The ruling BJP is leading on 80 seats and HD Kumaraswamy’s JD(S) is ahead in over 20 seats.
Congress in Karnataka is ahead of the ruling BJP, according to the initial trends of counting of votes polled for the May 10 Assembly elections. Congress was leading in 82 seats and the BJP in 66. The JD(S), led by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, gained an early lead in 21 segments.
Exit polls suggested that it will be a close race – one that will see the Congress emerge as the single-largest party but not with enough to cross the 113-seat mark. Karnataka voted in a single phase on Wednesday and recorded a 73.19 per cent voter turnout, according to the state’s chief electoral officer.
Karnataka registered a voter turnout of 73.19 per cent which election officials termed a “record”.
