The counting of votes for the hotly contested Karnataka assembly elections 2023 shall be held on Saturday. The election witnessed a fierce battle between long-standing rivals, the Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress, and the Janata Dal (Secular). With the potential of a hung meeting, all events and lots of pollsters are anxiously anticipating the result, holding their breath to find their destiny.

While chief minister Basavaraj Bommai exuded confidence within the BJP’s return to energy in Karnataka, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge mentioned his social gathering would win a “thumping majority”.

Former chief minister and JD(S) chief HD Kumaraswamy has mentioned his social gathering would be the ‘King’ in the Karnataka polls.

With most exit polls giving the Congress an edge over the BJP within the Karnataka meeting election, Bommai mentioned that the ruling social gathering will come to energy with a “comfortable majority” as he was assured with the social gathering’s floor stories.

Congress Karnataka president DK Shivakumar mentioned he didn’t consider within the exit ballot outcomes, which predicted a hung meeting whereas placing his social gathering forward, including that they’ll cross the 146-seat mark.

While the election campaigns noticed the BJP and the Congress buying and selling fireplace over the promise within the latter’s manifesto to proscribe the Bajrang Dal, polling went off peacefully on May 10, with the eventual turnout recorded at a strong 73.29 per cent.

A celebration must win 113 seats to succeed in the bulk mark and stake a declare to forming the federal government in Karnataka.

What Karnataka exit polls predicted

Though prime leaders of the state have exuded confidence about their social gathering successful comfortably within the polls to the 224-member meeting, the exit polls have certainly made them anxious to an extent. No one desires a 2018-like situation to unfold this time too.

The JD(S) would be the key think about case of a hung verdict, and should emerge as a ‘king’ or ‘kingmaker’, as in 2018.

In the exit ballot outcomes introduced on Wednesday, India Today-Axis My India predicted a transparent majority for the Congress with 122-140 seats within the 224-member meeting and gave the BJP 62-80 seats. It gave 20-25 seats to the JD (S), the third main participant within the race.

News 24-Today’s Chanakya additionally forecast a majority for the Congress with 120 seats as in opposition to 92 seats for the BJP and 12 for the JD(S).

While the ABP News-C Voter exit ballot predicted that the Congress would get 100-112 seats, BJP 83-95, JD(S) 21-29, the Republic TV-P MARQ forecast that the Congress will get 94-108 seats, the BJP 85-100 and JD(S) 24-32.

The India TV-CNX exit polls gave the Congress 110-120 seats and the BJP 80-90 seats. They predicted 20-24 seats for the JD (S).

The TV9 Bharatvarsh-Polstrat exit ballot acknowledged that the Congress is more likely to get 99-109 seats, the BJP 88-98 and the JD(S) 21-26 whereas the Zee News-Matrize Agency predicted that the Congress would get 103-118, the BJP 79-94 and the JD(S) 25-33.

The News Nation-CGS ballot mentioned the BJP would get 114 seats, the Congress 86 and the JD(S) 21. The Suvarna News-Jan Ki Baat forecast that the BJP was more likely to win 94-117, Congress 91-106 and the JD(S) 14-24.

Times Now-ETG exit polls gave 113 seats to the Congress and 85 to the BJP. It predicted 23 seats for JD (S).

Key contests that may determine the battle

After a high-decibel marketing campaign throughout which all three key gamers within the fray – the BJP, Congress and JD(S) – went at one another and pulled out stops and heavyweight campaigners to woo voters, the decision within the battle for the Karnataka meeting now rests with the folks’s courtroom.

The key constituencies to be careful for on end result day are Varuna, Kanakapura, Shiggaon, Hubli-Darwad, Channapatna, Shikaripura, Chittapur, Ramanagara, and Chikmagalur.

The ends in these seats may nicely sway the eventual end result of the polls.

Also, the Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities, accounting for 17 and 11 per cent of the state’s inhabitants, will even play a key function in deciding the eventual ballot end result.

Bommai is searching for a contemporary mandate from the Shiggaon constituency from the place he has received three consecutive phrases within the meeting.

There can also be plenty of curiosity across the battle for the Varuna constituency the place Congress stalwart and former chief minister Siddaramaiah is pitted in opposition to the BJP’s V Somanna, a state minister and Bharathi Shankar of the JD(S).

Shivakumar, who’s believed to be vying for the chief minister’s publish this time, can also be eyeing a contemporary time period within the Kanakapura meeting constituency. Shivakumar is in a direct contest in opposition to the BJP’s Vokkaliga strongman and state income minister R Ashoka.

BJP turncoat and former chief minister Jagadish Shettar, who converted to the Congress after being denied a ticket by the saffron social gathering to contest the Hubli-Darwad West constituency, is up in opposition to BJP’s Mahesh Tenginkai.

Key factors

> The voting handed off peacefully in Karnataka with a voting turnout of 73.19 per cent, surpassing the 72.36 per cent recorded in 2018.

> A complete of 737 theme-based and ethnic Model Polling stations have been arrange. At 239 Polling stations arrange within the state, voters have been greeted by PwD employees. As a part of the initiative of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to encourage younger voters to take part within the competition of democracy, 286 Polling Stations arrange have been managed by the youngest accessible employees.

> There have been over 11.71 lakh first-time voters registered within the state.

> The counting shall be held in 36 centres throughout the state. A transparent image of the result’s more likely to emerge by midday.

> In the 2018 meeting elections, the ruling BJP emerged because the single-largest social gathering with 104 seats, adopted by the Congress with 78 seats and the JD(S) with 37.

(With inputs from PTI, ANI)