Karnataka Polls: With exit polls predicting hung verdict, Congress & BJP woo JD(S); counting to begin at 8am on May 13

NEW DELHI: The results of the hotly contested Karnataka assembly elections will be declared on Saturday. The counting will begin at 8 am in 36 centres across the state, and poll officials expect a clear picture about the outcome to emerge by mid-day.The electoral fortunes of top leaders-- chief minister Basavaraj Bommai of the BJP, Congress heavyweights Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar and JD(S)' H D Kumaraswamy, among many others will be known on Saturday.Elaborate security arrangements have been made across the State, especially in and around the counting centres, to avoid any untoward incidents.The state registered a "record" turnout of 73.19% in the voting on May 10, to elect representatives to the 224 member assembly.With most exit polls predicting a tight contest between the Congress and BJP, leaders of the two parties seem "jittery" over the outcome, while the JD(S) appears to be expecting a hung verdict, which would enable it to play a role in government formation once again.Most pollsters have given an edge to the Congress over the ruling BJP, while also indicating the possibility of a hung assembly in the state.Having banked on the Modi juggernaut, the ruling BJP is looking to break a nearly 40-year-old poll jinx where the people have never voted the incumbent party to power, while the Congress is hoping for a morale booster victory to give it a much-needed elbow room and momentum to position itself as the main opposition player in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.It also remains to be seen whether former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda-led JD(S) will emerge as a "kingmaker" or a "king" by holding the key to government formation, in the event of a hung verdict, as it has done in the past."A government with full majority" was the strong pitch of the leaders of all the political parties during the high-decibel, no holds barred campaigning, as they stressed on getting a clear mandate to form a strong and stable government, unlike what happened after the 2018 polls.Will we see a repeat of 2018?The BJP had then emerged as the single largest party by winning 104 seats, followed by Congress with 80 seats and JD(S) 37. There was also one independent member, while the BSP and Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janatha Party (KPJP) got one legislator each elected.In the 2018 elections, the Congress garnered a vote-share of 38.04%, followed by the BJP (36.22%) and the JD(S) (18.36%).With no party getting a clear majority at the time and as Congress and JD(S) were trying to forge an alliance, B S Yediyurappa of the BJP, which was the single largest party, staked claim and formed the government. However, it was dissolved within three days, ahead of a trust vote, as the saffron party strongman was unable to muster the required numbers.Subsequently, the Congress-JD(S) alliance formed the government with Kumaraswamy as CM, but the wobbly dispensation collapsed in 14 months, triggered by the resignation of 17 ruling coalition legislators and their subsequent defection to the BJP. This enabled the BJP's return to power. In the bypolls held subsequently in 2019, the ruling party won 12 out of 15 seats.In the outgoing assembly, the ruling BJP has 116 MLAs, followed by the Congress 69, JD(S) 29, BSP one, independents two, speaker one and vacant six (following deaths and resignations to join other parties ahead of the polls).'JD(S) has decided who it will support'Meanwhile, JD(S) national spokesperson Tanveer Ahmed on Friday said they have already decided which party they would support in forming the government after the results are declared. "We have already decided with whom we are going to form the government. We will announce it to the public when the appropriate time comes," he said."We have certain programs for the betterment of Karnataka. And we know who is capable of fulfilling that. The party knows who is going to work for issues such as women empowerment, farmers, education, employment, etc and we will go with the same," he added.Meanwhile, both the Congress and BJP have denied talking to the JD(S) for a post-poll alliance, each asserting that they will cross the majority mark of 113 comfortably under their own steam.(With inputs from agencies)