Karnataka elections: BS Yeddyurappa says BJP MLAs will meet governor on Wednesday to stake claim

9.43 pm: BS Yeddyurappa says he will be elected the leader of the BJP legislature party at a meeting at 10.30 am on Wednesday, ANI reports. “After that all MLAs will meet the governor to request him to allow the BJP to form the government,” Yeddyurappa says. “Now the ball is in the governor’s court. We will do as he decides.”

9.34 pm: Janata Dal (Secular) chief HD Deve Gowda and his son HD Kumaraswamy meet Congress leaders Siddaramaiah, Ghulam Nabi Azad, DK Shivakumar and Mallikarjun Kharge in Bengaluru, ANI reports.

9.25 pm: Congress leader DK Shivakumar has denied that he is upset with the party leadership, The News Minute reports. Sources close to the MLA had told the daily that he was unhappy at not being made the state Congress chief, and has sought the deputy chief minister’s post.

“I was part of the decision to form a coalition with the JD(S),” Shivakumar said denying the rumors. “To keep the BJP out of power, we decided this coalition was needed.”

“I am going all out to bring in MLAs including the independent MLAs,” he added. “The Congress will give me what I want. I have built this party for the last so many years. I have won with a margin of over 8,000 votes. How can I disrespect my party?”

8.12 pm: Modi also brings up the West Bengal Panchayat elections, where large-scale violence claimed at least 18 lives during polling on Monday. “What has happened in West Bengal is very bad for democracy,” the prime minister says.

“People weren’t allowed to file nominations. It isn’t only BJP workers who suffered. People from all leading parties except the one that rules Bengal suffered,” he adds according to ANI. “This is serious. That a land as great as West Bengal has to see such sights is unfortunate.”

“There were attempts in Karnataka to subvert democracy,” Modi says, referring to the discovery of nearly 10,000 voter IDs in a flat in Bengaluru. “But in the BJP, we even practice internal democracy. We are in favour of democracy.”

8.03 pm: “An impression had been created that the BJP is a North India-centric party,” Modi says. “Are Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and the North Eastern states Hindi speaking? We are a party which is present in all parts of the country, to address the needs of people all over India.”

8.01 pm: Modi says that while he is happy about the election results, the collapse of an under-construction flyover in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi, which killed 16 people, has saddened him. “I offer my condolences to the families of the victims and told the state government that the Centre would offer whatever help necessary,” he adds.

7.53 pm: Amit Shah addresses supporters at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, where the meet is taking place. He thanks party workers for “converting a tough fight into a win”, NDTV reports. He also thanks the people of Karnataka for “helping the cause of a Congress-mukt Bharat”.

Shah says the efforts of the Congress to use money and muscle power in Karnataka did not succeed. He also criticises the Congress for trying to play the “Lingayat card” by promising the community that it would secure the status of an independent faith.

7.22 pm: BJP National President Amit Shah and Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj arrive for the parliamentary party meet.

6.45 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has thanked the people of Karnataka for and BJP workers for helping the party secure the most number of seats in the Assembly.

6.17 pm: The BJP Parliamentary board will meet at 7 pm in New Delhi following the Karnataka polls, ANI reports.

6.03 pm: Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President G Parameshwara says the party had requested the governor to invite it to form the government in alliance with the Janata Dal (Secular). “It is now up to the governor,” he adds.

Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah expresses confidence that the Janata Dal (Secular) would form the government with Congress’ help.

5.51 pm: Somashekara Reddy and Karunakara Reddy, brothers of Janardhan Reddy who is accused in an illegal mining case, have both won seats by large margins.

Somashekara Reddy, a BJP candidate from Bellary City constituency who was arrested in the 2012 cash-for-bail scam, won by 16,155 votes. The Congress’ Anil Lad, who was accused of illegally exporting iron ore, lost to him.

Karunakara Reddy, who contested on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket from Harapanahalli constituency, won the seat with 67,603 votes. He had a lead of 9,647 votes against Congress party’s MP Ravindra.

5.45 pm: JD(S)’s HD Kumaraswamy, Congress’ Siddaramaiah, Ghulam Nabi Azad, DK Shivakumar wait inside Raj Bhavan to meet the governor, reports ANI.

5.30 pm: HD Kumaraswamy reaches Raj Bhavan to meet the governor.

5.28 pm: BJP’s Yeddyurappa says the party will prove its strength on the floor of the House if given an opportunity. “BJP has asked for a week’s time,” reports TV9.

5.06 pm: Congress & JD(S) have 117, we need 111 to form the government, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad tells ANI. “Since we were in power, and we lost, we have given our support for JD(S) led government. BJP has 104, we are ahead of them.”

4.58 pm: Minister for Animal Husbandry A Manju loses in Arkalgud to AT Ramaswamy of the JD(S) by 10,653 votes.

4.55 pm: Yeddyurappa says the BJP should form the government as it is the single largest party. “I have taken an appointment with Karnataka governor for 5 pm,” he says.

4.50 pm: Congress minister MB Patil wins Babaleshwar by 29,715 votes, while mInority Welfare Minister Roshan Baig leads by 15,734 votes in Shivajinanagar constituency of Bengaluru.

4.48 pm: Congress leader and Rural Development Minister HK Patil wins Gadag by 1,868 votes.

4.43 pm: Congress leader DK Shivakumar is at the Raj Bhawan in Bengaluru. “I’m here with our independent MLA. The independent MLA Nagesh and other MLAs are with us,” says Shivakumar. “We have the numbers. We want a secular government in Karnataka.”

4.41 pm: The BJP has swept the coastal belt, winning 18 of the region’s 21 seats. The Congress had won 13 seats in these three communally-volatile districts in the last elections, but managed to secure only three this time.

4.39 pm: Several key Congress ministers have retained their seats, though their party lost the majority it had held. Incumbent Chief Minister Siddaramaiah lost in Chamundeshwari but won in Badami by just 1,700 votes. The party currently also holds a narrow margin in 10 seats.

4.37 pm: KJ George, the minister in charge of Bengaluru, is ahead of Bharatiya Janata Party’s MN Reddy by nearly 50,800 votes.

4.35 pm: Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy, a six-time legislator, was leading in BTM Layout constituency of Bengaluru by 20,478 votes.

4.29 pm: HD Kumaraswamy writes to the governor seeking an appointment between 5.30 pm and 6 pm on Tuesday. “I have accepted the support extended by the Indian National Congress party for forming the government,” he writes.

4.24 pm: The Congress and JD(S) combined have 115 seats, while the BJP has 104.

4.23 pm: Congress has a larger vote share than BJP.

4.16 pm: In Bengaluru’s Govindraj Nagar, V Somanna of the BJP beats sitting Congress MLA Priyakrishna by 11,375 votes. Priyakrishna was the richest candidate in the elections with declared assets of Rs 1,020 crore. At 34, he was also the youngest.

4.11 pm: Priyank Kharge of the Congress, son of Mallikarjun Kharge, wins in Chittapur with a margin of 4,393 votes.

4.08 pm: “People of Karnataka voted for change, and rejected Siddaramaiah’s government,” says BS Yedyurappa. “Anti-incumbency and people’s disappointment is so strong that Siddaramaiah lost his own constituency Chamundeshwari.” The Congress is trying to grab power through backdoor policies, he says.

He adds: “Under Modi leadership, Congress-mukt Karnataka is set to happen. That’s the people’s verdict. We will meet national leaders and decide the way forward.”

4.03 pm: Once the Election Commission declares the results, the governor will invite one of the parties to form the government.

It is the governor’s prerogative to decide who to invite. According to several Supreme Court judgements, the governor can invite any person who in his opinion has the best chance to form the government. Usually, the single-largest party or the single-largest pre-poll alliance is given preference.

3.56 pm: Siddaramaiah will submit a letter of support to the JD(S) to the governor along with his letter of resignation, says a senior Congress official.

3.51 pm: Congress’ NA Haris wins Bengaluru’s Shantinagar constituency by 18,205 votes. His son, Mohammed Haris Nalapad, was arrested in February for allegedly assaulting a man in a restaurant, leading to speculation that it may dampen Haris’ poll prospects.

3.48 pm: A Congress-delegation led by G Parameshwara, which had gone to meet the Karnataka Governor, was turned back, reports ANI.

3.47 pm: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati speak to Deve Gowda, reports India Today.

3.46 pm: JD(S) accepts Congress’ support, Danish Ali tells ANI. “As per results, we are doing everything to keep BJP out of power,” he says. “Congress has extended its support, we have accepted it. We will jointly go to meet Governor after 5.30 pm today.”

3.31 pm: However, Siddaramaiah lost the Chamundeshwari seat to one-time friend GT Devegowda of the JD(S) by a margin of 36,042 votes.

3.28 pm: In Badami constituency, Siddaramaiah beats BJP’s Sreeramulu with a margin of 1,696 votes.

3.26 pm: Meanwhile, in Hyderabad Karnataka, in 2013, out of 40 seats, Congress won 28, BJP won 11 and one seat went to an independent candidate. This election, the contest has been closer. Congress is leading in 21 seats, BJP in 16 and JD(S) has made an entry with 3.

3.21 pm: In Bombay Karnataka, Congress is leading in 17 seats, BJP in 31 and JD(S) in 2. This is in sharp contrast to 2013, when the Congress won 30 seats, BJP in 15 and five went to a combination of Independents and small parties.

3.20 pm: Union ministers Prakash Javadekar, JP Nadda and Dharmendra Pradhan are flying to Bengaluru to consider options for the BJP, say reports.

3.15 pm: BS Yeddyurappa says the final figures are not yet out and that he shall comment on any possible alliance with JD(S) only after they are declared.

3.05 pm: Congress leader KC Venugopal says the party and Janata Dal (Secular) will jointly meet the governor on Tuesday evening, reports ANI.

2.56 pm: Siddaramaiah says the JD(S) can form the government. “We will support. Details will be discussed later,” he says.

2.55 pm: Congress announces that it has offered support to the JD(S). “We had a telephonic talk with HD Kumaraswamy and Deve Gowda,” says Ghulam Nabi Azad.

2.48 pm: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will meet Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala at 4 pm, reports ANI.

2.31 pm: The Congress reaches out to Janatal Dal (Secular) chief and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda for a post-poll alliance. Senior officials in the party say the Congress is now willing to offer the post of chief minister to Deva Gowda’s son and former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy.

2 pm: Bharatiya Janata Party’s chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa has won the Shikaripura constituency. He won 86,983 votes, against 51,586 votes for the Congress candidate.

1.55 pm: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray says it is a victory for electronic voting machines.

1.44 pm: State minister KJ George says Congress cannot be written off as many of its leaders have won the elections. “It is maybe a setback for Congress, but we will find out the cause,” he tells ANI.

1.37 pm: The seven losing Congress candidates who filed complaints against voting machines with the returning officer are all in the Dakshina Kannada district. The district has eight constituencies – Congress won only one of them.

The names of the seven candidates who filed the complaint are K Vasantha Bangera (Belthangady), K Ramanatha Rai (Bantval), BA Mohiuddin Bava (Mangalore City North), JR Lobo (Mangalore City South), K Abhayachandra (Modabidri), Shakunthala T Shetty (Puttur) and B Raghu (Sullia).

1.34 pm: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is trailing Chamundeshwari by 35,496 votes against GT Deve Gowda of JD(S). In his other constituency of Badami, he is leading by 1,875 votes against BJP’s B Sreeramulu.

BJP’s chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa is leading by 35,397 votes against the Congress candidate in Shikaripura.

HD Kumaraswamy of the JD(S) is leading by 18,438 votes in the Channapatna constituency and by 22,289 votes in the Ramanagara seat.

1.30 pm: While the BJP is set to win over 100 seats, its vote share is less than the Congress’. The Congress has got 37.9% of all votes counted so far, and the BJP has got 36.6%.

1.20 pm: The Election Commission has now declared results for 14 seats. The BJP has won 12 of them and the Congress two.

1.08 pm: The BJP has won Virajpet, Basavanagudi and Shiggaon constituencies. The Congress won Sandur. Latest data shows results have been declared for 10 constituencies now, eight of which went to the BJP.

1.05 pm: Seven Congress candidates in Dakshina Kannada district have filed complaints with the returning officer about electronic voting machines.

1.02 pm: Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu, after being acquitted in a three-decade-old road rage case, says: “Rahul Gandhi is a leader in the ascent. [General elections of] 2019 will be a different ball game. The alliances are coming with him. I will stand with him till the time blood flows inside me.”

12.54 pm: BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav says the cadre of the Sangh Parivar helped the party a lot, reports ANI.

12.52 pm: “This is the third straight defeat for Rahul Gandhi since he became Congress president,” Union minister Rajyavardhan Rathore tells ANI. “It’s good for us if all the Opposition wants to unite, so that all the dirt of the country gets wiped out together.”

12.50 pm: BJP’s parliamentary board will meet at 6 pm at the party headquarters in Delhi, ANI reports.

12.47 pm: BJP wins in Nargund and Saundatti Yellamma constituencies.

12.44 pm: Congress’ UT Abdul Khader wins by a margin of 19,739 votes in the Mangalore constituency. He was the food minister in the Siddaramaiah government.

12.39 pm: BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav says the saffron party’s southward march has begun.

12.31 pm: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Working President MK Stalin congratulates BJP’s CM candidate BS Yeddyurappa. “We hope the new government will constitute the Cauvery management board in the interest of Tamil Nadu,” he said in a tweet.

12.30 pm: “It is not a vote for development or Hinduism,” senior Congress leader M Veerappa Moily tells News18. “We have brought about great development in all spheres.”

He adds that the BJP President Amit Shah-led campaign was based on hate politics. “It was divisive politics on their part. We failed to socially engineer voters.”

12.26 pm: BJP’s MP Kumaraswamy wins Mudigere constituency by a margin of 12,512 votes. In Sullia, BJP candidate Angara S wins by 26,068 votes, according to the Election Commission of India.

12.14 pm: Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac and Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah react to the results.

12.12 pm: Congress’ vote share remains above the BJP’s, at 37.8% against 37.1%. The JD(S) has 17.4% votes.

12.06 pm: Union ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad and Nirmala Sitharaman celebrate the Karnataka results at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi.

12.04 pm: Congress’ chief ministerial candidate Siddaramaiah is trailing Chamundeshwari by 23,153 votes against GT Devegowda of JD(S). In his other constituency of Badami, he is leading by 2,726 votes against BJP’s B Sreeramulu.

BJP’s chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa is leading by 24,417 votes against Congress candidate in Shikaripura.

HD Kumaraswamy of the JD(S) is leading by 12,347 in the Channapatna constituency and by 19,745 in the Ramanagara seat.

12.00 pm: BJP workers celebrate in Bengaluru.

11.58 am: “This is an emergence of true grassroots democracy,” says Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh. “This marks the end of dynasty and feudalistic tendencies.”

11.56 am: Karnataka BJP General Secretary Shobha Karndlaje tells News18 that the party’s ground-level workers strived hard for the victory. “Lingayat and Virashaiva factor boomeranged Congress,” she says.

She adds: “Our dream of making Yeddyurappa the chief minister again has been realised.”

11.46 am: “People of Karnataka want good governance, that is why they have chosen BJP,” Union minister Prakash Javadekar tells ANI. “This is a big victory for the party. Congress is losing state after state and we are winning state after state.” He was in charge of the Karnataka elections for his party.

11.45 am: Congress’ DK Shivakumar is leading in the Kanakapura constituency by 27,443 votes.

11.42 am: JD(S) leader Danish Ali tells NDTV: “Congress has always used its energy to destroy regional secular parties. BJP is ruling the country today because of Congress’ miscalculation.

11.38 am: Congress’ NA Haris is leading in Bengaluru’s Shantinagar constituency by 3,233 votes. His son, Mohammed Haris Nalapad, was arrested in February for allegedly assaulting a man in a restaurant, leading to speculation that it may dampen Haris’ poll prospects.

11.36 am: “Divisive and toxic politics of the Congress has been rejected,” says Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

11.34 am: Former Chief Minister and BJP leader D Sadanand Gowda says Amit Shah’s preparation of workers at the booth level and Narendra Modi’s policies helped the saffron party in the elections. “The whole country accepts the good governance and developmental programmes given by Modi,” he tells Scroll.in. “So all states want to see similar administrations. We’re already in 21 states, this will be 22nd.”

Yeddyurappa, the “master leader of Karnataka”, also helped the party, he says. “People felt the Siddaramaiah government is non-friendly to Karnataka and that the BJP’s previous tenure under Yeddyurappa had good administration.”

11.33 am: Congress leader DK Shivkumar says Rahul Gandhi did his best, “but it is we who have lost the elections”. “We, the local leadership, should have encashed it in a proper way,” he tells ANI.

11.32 am: The win belongs to Narendra Modi’s leadership, says Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

11.25 am: BJP MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar tells Scroll.in: “Siddaramaiah and Rahul Gandhi are the reason why Karnataka voted in favour of BJP.”

11.22 am: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee says the result could have been “different...very different” if the Congress had partnered with JD(S) for the elections. “Congratulations to the winners of the Karnataka elections,” she tweets. “For those who lost, fight back.”

11.22 am: BJP supporters have started celebrating outside the party office in Delhi, ANI reports.

11.19 am: Karnataka Congress General Secretary YV Ghorpade tells Scroll.in: “There has been more than 70% voter turnout in Karnataka, which means a lot of rural people have come out to vote. If these trends hold true, then a lot of people who are beneficiaries of schemes for rural poor like Anna Bhagya and Ksheera Bhagya have not voted for Congress. That is a paradox and we have to find out why.”

11.17 am: Congress leader Mohan Prakash raises questions about voting machines. “I am saying it from day 1, there is no political party in India which has not raised questions on EVMs,” he tells ANI. “Even BJP has done it in the past. Now when all parties are doubting EVMs then what problem does BJP have in conducting polls through ballot?”

11.16 am: “People have bid goodbye to five years of bad governance and corruption,” BJP MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar tells News18. “There was a deep-rooted resentment across the state against Siddaramaiah government.”

11.09 am: “People have rejected Siddaramaiah,” GT Devegowda tells ANI. “He lost because of his attitude, because of attacking everyone and because of his loose talk.” GT Devegowda of JD(S) is leading over Siddaramaiah in Chamundeshwari by over 17,000 votes.

11.05 am: Karnataka Congress Permanent Secretary L Narayan claims there is a problem with electronic voting machines. “Otherwise, there is no chance of senior leaders like Ramnath Rai in Bantval trailing,” he tells Scroll.in. Rai is trailing by 8,541 votes in Bantval.

11.04 am: “We respect democracy, but we are still waiting,” Professor Radhakrishna, Karnataka’s Congress in-charge, tells Scroll.in.

11.02 am: The BJP’s Karnataka unit has tweeted that Siddaramaiah wanted to contest from Badami as it was “a safe option” and Chamundeshwari was “bound to go”. Siddaramaiah is trailing by nearly 17,000 votes in Chamundeshwari and leading in Badami.

10.58 am: In Badami, Siddaramaiah is now leading BJP’s B Sreeramulu by 3,216 votes.

10.56 am: BJP’s coordinator for Bengaluru’s Dasarahalli constituency, K Narasimham Naidu, tells Scroll.in this is a positive vote towards Narendra Modi. “Modi has given a clean government in Delhi,” he says. “In Karnataka, Siddaramaiah failed to control the law and order. Karnataka has given a clear mandate. No dependence on any other party. Congress’ divide and rule policies have been rejected.”

10.54 am: With leads in over 110 seats now, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh calls it “a historic win” for BJP. “Now there will be a ‘Find Congress’ movement in India – no one will know where it is,” he tells ANI.

10.51 am: BJP workers are celebrating at the party headquarters in Bengaluru.

10.47 am: Ganesh Bhat, a BJP worker, tells Scroll.in at the BJP’s headquarters in Bengaluru: “We wanted the anti-Hindu and corrupt government to go. And that’s what is going to happen. Jai Modi.”

10.43 am: Siddaramaiah is again ahead in his close contest with BJP’s B Sreeramulu in Badami. He now has 24,268 votes, against Sreeramulu’s 23,368.

10.40 am: In Shikaripura, BJP’s chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa is leading against Congress’ GB Malatesh by 11,328 votes.

10.39 am: BJP is now ahead in vote share as well, with 38.3% of the votes. Congress has 37.5%.

10.38 am: BJP’s G Somasekhara Reddy is leading against Anil Lad of Congress in Ballari City by 1,347 votes.

His brother G Karunakara Reddy is leading over Congress’ MP Ravindra by 3,983 votes.

10.36 am: Congress candidate in Varuna, Yathindra, is leading by 6,476 votes.

His father Siddaramaiah, the Congress’ chief ministerial candidate, is trailing in both constituencies. In Badami, he is trailing by 20,720 votes against BJP’s B Sreeramulu, while in Chamundeshwari, he is behind by 13,113 votes.

10.33 am: Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President G Parameshwara is leading by 376 votes in Koratagere.

10.32 am: JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy is leading in both Ramanagara and Channapatna seats. In Ramanagara, he has leading by over 7,000 votes and in Channapatna, he is ahead by 4,485 votes.

10.27 am: Congress’ Dinesh Gundu Rao leading in Gandhi Nagar by 1,411 votes against BJP’s AR Sapthagiri Gowda.

10.25 am: Incumbent home minister Ramalinga Reddy is leading by 6,209 votes in BTM Layout constituency of Bengaluru.

10.24 am: The Sensex has gained 416.62 points with the BJP leading the election results. It is at 35,973.33 points, while Nifty 50 has gained 117.90 points to reach 10,924.50.

10.22 am: In Hubli-Dharwad Central, BJP leader and former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar is leading by 3,174 votes.

10.21 am: In Harapanahalli, G Karunakara Reddy is leading by 2,836 votes against Congress’ MP Ravindra.

10.14 am: Congress’ Siddaramaiah is now leading against BJP’s Sreeramulu in Badami by 169 votes.

10.11 am: HD Kumaraswamy is leading over Congress’ Iqbal Hussain in Ramanagara constituency by 11,585 votes.

10.10 am: BJP workers begin celebrations outside the party office in Bengaluru as trends show the party leading in over 80 seats.

10.08 am: In Shikaripura, BJP’s chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa is leading against Congress’ GB Malatesh by 7,818 votes, according to the ECI.

10.02 am: Yathindra, Siddaramaiah’s son and the Congress candidate in Varuna, is leading by 548 votes.

9.59 am: BJP’s Sadananda Gowda now says there is no question of an alliance with JD(S) as his party is “already crossing 112 seats”, ANI reports.

9.57 am: BJP’s B Sreeramulu is now leading against Siddaramaiah in Badami by 331 votes. He has 9,494 votes.

9.55 am: GT Devegowda’s lead over Siddaramaiah in Chamundeshwari has now swelled to over 11,000. Siddaramaiah has 11,566 votes against Devegowda’s 23,052.

9.52 am: The Congress is leading over the BJP in terms of vote share. Congress has 38.2% and BJP has 37.9% of the votes so far, the ECI website shows. JD(S) has a 17% vote share.

9.49 am: B Sreeramalu is closing the gap against Siddaramaiah in Badami seat. He now has 6,196 votes, while the chief minister is at 6,494, according the Election Commission website.

9.44 am: HD Kumaraswamy is leading in Ramanagara constituency with 8,534 votes. Congress candidate Iqbal Hussain is second with 5,166 votes.

9.43 am: In Hyderabad Karnataka region, the BJP is leading in 14 seats, Congress in 13 and JD(S) in two seats.

9.40 am: “I will decide once all the results are out,” HD Deve Gowda of the JD(S) tells News18 on his course of action.

9.37 am: BJP is leading in 10 of the 19 seats in Coastal Karnataka.

9.33 am: In Belgaum Uttar, BJP’s Anil S Benake is leading over sitting Congress MLA Fairoz Nuruddin Sait by over 2,200 votes.

9.30 am: In Shikaripura, BJP’s chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa is leading against Congress’ GB Malatesh by 3,420 votes, reports ANI. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is ahead in Badami by 1,277 votes.

9.25 am: In Belagavi Rural, Congress’ Lakshmi Hebbalkar is leading by 1,522 votes over BJP’s Sanjay Patil.

9.24 am: Ramalinga Reddy, the home minister, is leading by 2,809 votes in BTM Layout constituency of Bengaluru.

9.23 am: In Bilgi, trends show a likely reversal from the 2013 results. BJP’s Murugesh Nirani is leading over sitting Congress MLA JT Patil.

9.21 am: In Mysuru’s Muslim-majority Narasimharaja constituency, Tanveer Sait of Congress is leading by 1,704 votes over Sandesh Swamy of BJP, the Election Commission website shows.

9.20 am: MB Patil, the water resources minister, is leading in Babaleshwar. He had won the elections in 2008 and 2013. Food and Civil Supplies Minister UT Abdul Khader is leading in Mangaluru over BJP’s Santosh Kumar Rai Boliyaru.

9.17 am: GT Devegowda of JD(S) leads in Chamundeshwari with 6,879 votes. Congress’ Siddaramaiah has 3,425 votes, according to the Election Commission.

In Bengaluru’s Yeshvanthapura constituency, TN Javarayi Gwoda of JD(S) is ahead of incumbent ST Somasekhar of the Congress.

9.15 am: Congress leader Ashok Gehlot tells ANI all options, including partnering with the JD(S), are open for the party. “These are initial trends, we hope Congress will form the government in Karnataka and are confident of it,” he says.

9.13 am: In Basavanagudi constituency of Bengaluru, K Bagegowda of JD(S) is leading over Ravi Subramanya, the sitting MLA of BJP.

9.11 am: Prabhu Chauhan of BJP is leading in Aurad constituency of Bidar district, the ECI website shows. Chauhan had won in 2008 and 2013 as well.

9.07 am: HD Kumaraswamy of JD(S) is leading over the Congress candidate by 1,552 votes in Ramanagara, ANI reports.

9.03 am: Umanatha A Kotian of BJP is leading by 6,792 votes in Moodabidri, Dakshina Kannada district, according to ECI. It was won by K Abhayachandra of Congress in 2013.

9.02 am: Siddaramaiah is leading in Badami, according to News18.

8.53 am: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is trailing by 2,120 votes in Chamundeshwari after the first round of counting, according to News18.

8.49 am: Official trends from the Election Commission show the BJP is ahead in two seats and the Congress in one.

8.47 am: Congress’ Priyank Kharge, the son of Mallikarjun Kharge, is trailing in Chittapur, according to The News Minute.

8.43 am: Early trends from CNN-News18 now show Congress ahead in 34 seats and the BJP in 39 seats. The Janata Dal (Secular) and Bahujan Samaj Party coalition is ahead in 21 seats.

8.39 am: BJP chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa is ahead in the Shikaripura constituency, The News Minute reports. HD Kumaraswamy is leading in Ramanagara.

8.37 am: Congress candidate from Sarvagnanagar, KJ George, is leading, according to The News Minute. Counting in Badami has started and Siddaramaiah is leading.

8.33 am: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is trailing from Chamundeshwari seat, News18 reports. The counting in Badami seat, the other seat he is contesting from, is yet to begin.

8.31 am: Counting was delayed in Bengaluru Rural seat by half an hour, according to the Hindustan Times.

8.29 am: Congress is leading in 33 seats, the BJP in 31 and the JD(S) in nine seats, Public TV reports.

8.21 am: Current leads show BJP ahead in 17 seats and the Congress ahead in 16, News18 reports. The JD(S) is ahead in 11 constituencies.

8.19 am: Congress candidate DK Shivakumar is leading in Kanakapura, according to TV9.

8.18 am: HD Kumaraswamy of the JD(S) is leading from Ramanagara, CNN-News18 reports.

8.04 am: The counting of votes has started, ANI reports. Postal ballots will be counted first.

8 am: Senior Congress leaders will decide on whether the party will form an alliance with Janata Dal (Secular), Yathindra, candidate from Varuna and Siddaramaiah’s son, tells ANI. However, he says he is hopeful the party can form the government on its own.

7.57 am: Here is a look at the seat shares of the three major parties in the previous three Assembly elections in the state:

7.47 am: Janata Dal (Secular)’s HD Kumaraswamy offers prayers at Adichunchanagiri Mahasamsthana Math before the counting, ANI reports.

7.38 am: BJP leader B Sriramalu is seen praying before the counting, ANI reports. He is his party’s candidate against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Badami constituency.

7.37 am: Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sadananda Gowda has said his party will get more than 120 seats, News18 reports.

7.23 am: Tight security is in place for the counting of votes. Central Armed Police Forces have been deployed in strong rooms, where voting machines are stored after polling, Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat tells ANI. As many as 50,000 police personnel are deployed across 38 counting centres in the state – 11,000 of them are in Bengaluru alone, ANI reports.

7.15 am: Exit polls have predicted a hung Assembly in Karnataka, in which case regional outfit Janata Dal (Secular) will play a key role. A party needs 113 seats to form the government in the state. No party has retained power in Assembly elections in Karnataka in nearly four decades.