Many polling agencies have predicted that this time BJP would emerge as a single-largest party while others predicted that it will only come halfway. Current update says that BJP is leading leaving Congress and JD(S) at second and third spot respectively. A victory for the BJP will give it the necessary momentum in state assembly elections to be held later this year and, most importantly, the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.
We will tell you about 10 things that you must know about Karnataka Election of 2018
1 CM Siddaramaiah is currently leading in Badami by over 4000 votes whereas he is facing a defeat in Chamundeshwari by over 27,000 votes.
2 As Congress is falling out of the majority, Congress veteran’s Ashok Gehlot and Mallikarjun Kharge said they were open to an alliance with the JD(S). “We will discuss the issue with the high command. I am going to meet Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot and we will discuss,” Kharge said.
3 Hundred of BJP activist have already celebrated their winning on Tuesday. Waving BJP flags and dancing to drum beats, the activists, as well as some leaders, cheered loudly in the party office.
4 Sadanand Gowda, a BJP leader, and Union Minister said that there was no question of any alliance with the JD(S) as his party was headed towards a clear majority.
5 BJP invested heavily in campaigning for this election as it can be a gateway for them to southern India.
6 There were originally 15 rallies planned for the campaigning but Prime Minister Narendra Modi held six more rallies.
7 Yeddyurappa even announced a date for his swearing on May 17 as he was confident about the winning.
8 The Congress campaign was spearheaded by Siddaramaiah, with party president, Rahul Gandhi, also carrying out a slick and hard-hitting campaign. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi too, addressed a public rally in the state, her first after almost two years.
9 The trend of no government winning a second term in Karnataka since 1985 seems to be intact. In 1985, the Janata Dal under Ramakrishna Hegde had retained power.
10 In 2013, the Congress had won 122 seats. The BJP and the JD(S) got 40 seats each, while Yeddyurappa who was then from Karnataka Jantha Paksha got six seats.
