As the counting process for the Karnataka elections 2023 is underway, an unwelcome visitor caused chaos at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) camp office at Shiggaon on the morning of Saturday, May 13. A snake appeared at the premises just as Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai arrived at the office, leading to panic among party workers and security officers. The king cobra was later rescued and the building was secured.
Meanwhile, latest reports say that CM Bommai, who is seeking reelection from Shiggaon for the fourth time, is leading by over 30,000 votes in the constituency. He is contesting against Congress's Pathan Yasirahmedkhan and Janata Dal (Secular)'s Shashidhar Yeligar. The overall results from across the state, however, have been unfavourable to his party BJP, with Congress taking a lead in at least 117 seats while the BJP is leading in around 75. The JD(S) is reportedly leading in around 23 seats.
#WATCH A snake which had entered BJP camp office premises in Shiggaon, rescued; building premises secured amid CM's presence pic.twitter.com/1OgyLLs2wt
— ANI (@ANI) May 13, 2023
For the first time, five independent news organisations — The News Minute, The Caravan, Newslaundry, Scroll and The Wire — are coming together on May 13 to cover the Karnataka election results, getting you insights, not noise.
Watch our live coverage of the Karnataka election results here:
With 224 seats in the Karnataka Assembly, a party needs 113 seats to form the government. The 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections threw up a fractured mandate, with the BJP emerging the single largest party, winning 104 seats. The Congress won 78 seats while the JD(S) picked up 37 seats. BS Yediyurappa was invited to form the government and was sworn in as Chief Minister. But he stepped down three days later, just before the trust vote. The Congress and JD(S) came together to form the coalition government with HD Kumaraswamy as Chief Minister.
However, this government lasted only 13 months, until 17 MLAs belonging to the Congress and the JD(S) defected to the BJP in July 2019. While Yediyurappa returned as CM, he stepped down in 2021, and was replaced by Bommai.
This time, the Congress campaign was focussed on the failings of the incumbent BJP. The BJP sought to counter this by invoking the personality of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the power of ‘double engine’ government. The JD(S), meanwhile, appealed for a rejection of both national parties.
A total of 2,613 candidates contested the elections, out of which 2,427 were male, 185 were female, and one was a transgender person. This time, Karnataka saw a record voter turnout of 72.67%.