15 May, 21:12 (IST)

After a day of tussle, it is still unclear who will form the government in Karnataka. Congress' Siddaramaiah claims Congress+JD(S) has the support of 118 MLAs and are ready to form Government and is confident of Magic number. BJP's BS Yeddyurappa also met Governor, looked confident and is ready for a floor test. With both sides claiming the stake now the buck stops with the Governor. We will bring all the updates on the latest developments from the Karnataka Elections here. Stay tuned with LatestLY!

15 May, 19:39 (IST)

PM Narendra Modi's statement on BJP getting the maximum number of seats in Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018: I thank my sisters and brothers of Karnataka for steadfastly supporting the BJP’s development agenda and making BJP the single largest party in the state. I salute the stupendous work of BJP Karnataka Karyakartas who toiled round the clock and worked for the party.

15 May, 18:10 (IST)

Siddaramaiah claims Congress+JD(S) has the support of 118 MLAs and are ready to form Government. Confident of Magic number.

15 May, 18:04 (IST)

JD(S) & Congress have enough numbers to form the government. BJP cannot form the government without the numbers Says Congress Leader M Veerappa Moily

15 May, 17:27 (IST)

BJP is leaving no stone unturned and it is going to the wires now! BS Yeddyurappa meets Karnataka Governor, stakes claim to form the government and are ready for the floor test.

15 May, 16:58 (IST)

'I have taken an appointment with Karnataka Governor for 5 pm. We should be forming the govt as we are the single largest party', says BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa as per ANI reports.

15 May, 16:17 (IST)

Siddaramaiah Submits his Resignation to the Governor of Karnataka, now Congress with JD (S) will stake claim to form the new government. But this time Siddaramaiah will not be the Chief Minister. 

15 May, 15:40 (IST)

The fight is still on! Being the single largest party, BJP is ready to stake the claim alone. JD (S) & Congress plans to do so together and meet the governor later in the day.

15 May, 15:32 (IST)

It is all over for BJP as the Congress-JD(S) deal is closed with CM post going to JD(S) while Congress compromises on deputy CM post. The new alliance will meet Governor to stake the claim.

15 May, 14:58 (IST)

It is official, Congress to support JD (S) and are ready to sacrifice chief minister post. In this scenario HD Kumaraswamy is the probable CM candidate.

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Bengaluru, May 15: The results of Karnataka assembly elections 2018, one of the bitterly fought electoral battles in recent times, will be declared today. The Election Commission of India is scheduled to begin the counting of votes at 8 am. The early trends are expected to follow thereafter. Although the official results would be declared later in the day, the trends in the first couple of hours would reveal whether Karnataka has reposed faith in the Siddaramaiah-led Congress, or paved the way for BS Yeddyurappa to ride back to power on a Modi-Shah-led BJP wave. The Janata Dal (Secular), on the other hand, was predicted by most exit polls to play the role of kingmaker. Stay tuned here for all the live updates, trends, news and results emerging from the counting centres.

Voting for the Karnataka assembly polls was held in 222 of the 224 legislative constituencies. The two seats where voting was deferred are Jayanagar, where the death of BJP candidate led to the cancellation of polls and Rajarajeshwari (RR) Nagar, where the seizure of over 9,000 fake voter ID cards forced the Election Commission to countermand the polls.

Karnataka Election Results: Will Congress halt the Modi-Shah juggernaut?

Post the BJP's victory in 2014 general elections, the party has been claiming one state after another, leaving Congress with only four states, including the minor Puducherry and Mizoram. A defeat in Karnataka would further dent the Congress' stature as a national party as it would be left with only Punjab as a major state to be ruled.

Predicting the dismal performance of the Rahul Gandhi-led party, PM Modi in a poll rally in Dharwad had said, "Very soon, this Congress will be PPP Congress." By 'PPP' he referred to Punjab-Puducherry-Parivar (family).

On the other hand, a victory for the Congress would shift the momentum in favour of the grand-old party, ahead of the upcoming Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh assembly elections later this year.

Speaking at a poll rally in Hubli, Rahul Gandhi had said, "I don't make overstatements. Mark my words: The BJP will be defeated in Karnataka. They will be defeated in MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. Then, they will be defeated in 2019."

What exit polls had predicted the outcome of Karnataka elections 2018?

Exit Polls BJP Congress JD(S)
Today’s Chanakya 120 73 26
Republic-Jan Ki Baat 95-114 78-92 26-35
Times Now-VMR 94 97 28
ABP News-C Voter 97-109 87-99 21-30
India Today-Axis 79-92 106-118 22-30
POLL OF POLLS 102 92 27

Majority among the post-election surveys hinted towards a fractured mandate, with no party crossing the half-way mark of 112. Two among the six major surveys predicted a slim majority for the BJP, whereas, one exit poll predicted the Congress to retain power.