GG News Bureau
Bengaluru, 13th May. The opposition Congress on Saturday appeared to be on course to break through rival BJP’s lone southern bulwark Karnataka, speeding towards the 113-vote mark required to form a government on its own.
Encouraged by the early trends, the Congress claimed it had sent a message to the BJP to focus on public issues that mattered, even as the saffron party expressed hope of securing a simple majority of 113.
The opposition party marched ahead establishing a lead in 112 constituencies, while the BJP was leading in 74 segments, the latest Election Commission (EC) trends of counting of votes polled in the Karnataka Assembly elections showed.
Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda’s JD(S) is leading in 30 segments, while others are leading in 5 seats.
In their respective constituencies, BJP leader and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai (Shiggaon) and Congress State unit President D K Shivakumar (Kanakapura) were leading.
Former CM Jagadish Shettar, who quit the BJP after being denied to contest in the May 10 polls for the 224-member Assembly, was trailing in Hubballi-Dharwad Central by 2,614 votes. He was fielded there by the Congress.
In Channapatna, JD(S) leader and former CM H D Kumaraswamy was leading BJP’s C P Yogeshwara by 93 votes.
Shivakumar was around 6,000 votes ahead of his BJP opponent, state minister R Ashoka.
“This is the message for the BJP that please stick to issues that matter to people’s everyday lives and don’t try to divide India,” Congress leader Pavan Khera said.
“It is too early to comment on the final results,” said former Chief Minister and senior BJP leader D V Sadananda Gowda. But we will undoubtedly cross 113.”
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