The Congress, which is looking to wrest power from the BJP, reached the halfway mark and was ahead in 118 seats, trends showed. The saffron party, hoping to break the 34-year-old anti-incumbency jinx in the state, was leading in 72 seats.
Meanwhile, the JD(S), which is likely to be the kingmaker if the two national parties fail to secure a clear majority, was leading in 26 seats.
We will form the government with a heavy majority, there’s no doubt about it. Negative, divisive campaign of the PM did not work, said Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera.
In key poll battles to watch out for, JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy was leading in Channapatna constituency. He is squaring off with former Karnataka tourism minister CP Yogeshwara .
On the other hand, former CM Jagadish Shettar was trailing in the Hubli-Dharwad Central seat, his home turf. BJP’s Mahesh Tenginakai was leading by a margin of 26,803 votes, according to Election Commission data at 11:35 AM.
As per the latest ECI data, Congress gets 42.93 per cent vote share, BJP gets 36.17 per cent vote share while JD(S) receives 12.97 per cent vote share.
