Bengaluru, November 5: The Election Commission is scheduled to declare the results of Karnataka bypolls tomorrow. The high-stakes bye-election contest featured an electoral battle between the JD(S)-Congress alliance and the BJP on the three Lok Sabha seats - Shimoga, Bellary and Mandya - and the two assembly constituencies - Ramanagara and Jamkhandi.

In the three parliamentary segments, bypolls were necessitated as the seats were vacated by the incumbent lawmakers on being elected to the Karnataka legislative assembly. Karnataka Bypolls 2018: SEC Releases Voting Percentage Stats, Maximum Turnout Recorded in Jamkhandi.

From Shimoga, BJP veteran BS Yeddyurappa has vacated the seat as he is now serving as the Leader of Opposition in the assembly. In Bellary, mining baron and BJP leader B Sriramulu vacated the seat after being elected to the assembly, whereas, Mandya was vacated by JD(S) lawmaker C S Puttaraju.

Meanwhile, the Ramanagara assembly seat fell vacant as Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy submitted his resignation. It was one of the two seats from where the CM had won in the assembly elections held in May 2018.

In Jamkhandi, the bypolls were necessitated due to the death of incumbent MLA Siddu Nyamagouda. The senior Congress leader died in a road accident on May 28.

The bypoll results will emerge as a litmus test for the JD(S)-Congress government, which has been ruling the state for the last five months. According to JD(S) president HD Deve Gowda, the results will be a precursor to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. "If we perform well, the credit will go the unity of secular voters. A nationwide call will be issued for the Opposition to unite against the BJP," he said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 05, 2018 11:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).