The counting of votes for the Karnataka Assembly elections 2018 will be taken up on Tuesday with pollsters saying they would likely go down to the wire, with a neck and neck race between the state's ruling Congress and challenger BJP.

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Several exit polls have predicted a hung Assembly, and said former prime minister HD Deve Gowda's JD(S) would play the role of the kingmaker. In one of the most high-profile and bitterly fought elections in recent times, 222 of the 224 seats went to polls on 12 May. Polling for RR Nagar seat was deferred on account of alleged electoral malpractices, while it was countermanded in Jayanagar seat following the death of the BJP candidate.

Counting of votes would begin at 8 am in nearly 40 counting centres, election office sources told agencies. The trends are likely to begin to trickle within an hour and all results are expected to be declared by late evening.

1) Siddaramaiah is hinting at Congress not getting a clear majority after Tuesday's vote-counting; 2) A coalition with the Janata Dal (Secular) is possible; 3) A Dalit alternative to him would facilitate such an alliance since he himself wouldn't be acceptable to that party. But there is possibly more than what meets the eye.

His statement was more than the familiar expression of loyalty to royalty, writes Srinivas Prasad in a Firstpost article . It has so far been interpreted to mean the following:

Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah said on Sunday that it was fine with him if the Congress party decided to replace him with a Dalit candidate after election results are declared on Tuesday.

Both leaders reached Bengaluru and met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and other party leaders. They are also likely to meet JD(S) leaders, including HD Deve Gowda and his son Kumaraswamy, in case it fails to get a majority of its own.

The Congress is taking no chances ahead of the Karnataka Assembly election result and has sent in its top leaders to avoid a repeat of what happened in Goa and Manipur, where it failed to form government despite emerging as the largest party. The party has sent senior leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot to the southern state where results of the Assembly election will be announced on Tuesday, reported News18.

Counting is being held across a total 38 centres in 33 election districts. Chitradurga, Dakshina Kannada and Mysuru have two centres, Tumakuru has three and the rest of the districts one each.

On Monday, re-polling was held in two polling stations in Kushtagi due to incorrect listing of 275 voters. Total voters involved were 1,683 voters. Similarly in the polling booth in Lottegollahalli, the total voters who voted on Monday were 1,444.

All preparations are in place at the Government Junior College building in Yadgir where 270 employees have been deployed and 52 tables have been set up in 8 counting centres for four Assembly constituencies in the district.

50,000 police personnel have been deployed across 38 counting centres in state with 11,000 in Bengaluru alone. One Rapid Action Force (RAF) company and 20 Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) companies have also been deployed in Bengaluru, reported ANI.

Here are some glimpses from BVB College in Bidar where counting has officially kicked off. Close to 9 lakh people cast their votes to decide the fate of the six Assembly constituencies under it.

The counting of votes across 38 centres in the state has begun on Tuesday, with postal ballots being counted first.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is currently trailing in Chamundeswari Assembly constituency, while JD(S)' GT Deve Gowda has taken the lead at present, as per CNN-News18.

As per official Election Commission trends, BJP leading in 10 seats, Congress in five seats, JD(S) and allied parties in one seat and others in one seat.

After the fourth round of counting in Chamundeshwari, JD(S)' GT Deve Gowda is currently leading with 11,624 votes.

These might be early trends but leads put BJP ahead of Congress in the Lingayat-dominated seats in the state. If these trends hold, it would indicate that Congress's Lingayat card has not provided desired results. Lingayats are counted among core BJP voters. The announcement of giving a 'separate religion' status to Lingayats should have taken a chunk off that core voter base in favour of Congress but Siddaramaiah's decision to play the card just before elections may have resulted in a counter-consolidation. The BJP certainly appeared very cautious and refused to take a stand. Amit Shah did a round of the mutts to control and assess the mood. It now appears that while Siddaramaiah's move was a clever one, he may have got the timing wrong. Consider the fact that UPA rejected such a status earlier and Siddaramaiah had then welcomed it.

Vote shares released so far by EC: Congress leads with 41.1%; BJP close behind at 40.7%

As per the latest EC trends, BJP is leading in 58 seats, Congress in 27 seats, JD(S) in 24 and Others in three seats.

In Madikeri, JD(S) candidate BA Jivijaya leading with 1,782 votes. Four time MLA and BJP candidate MP Appachu Ranjan secured 2,377 votes while Jivijaya secured 4,197 votes. In Virajpet, BJP candidate KG Bopaiah secured 4,218 votes while Congress candidate and former MLC Arun Machaiah secured 3,143 votes.

Among the 49 Mumbai-Karnataka seats, the BJP is leading in 30. Meanwhile, BS Yeddyurappa is leading in Shikaripura by 3,420 votes. Goni Malathesha of Congress is trailing behind.

CNN-News18's DP Satish spoke to HD Deve Gowda, who told him that he would decide on the topic of post-poll alliances once all the results have been declared.

Both BJP and Congress are tied at 38.9 per cent vote share. Here are the absolute numbers: BJP - 6,22,840, Congress - 6,22,435. That is at this moment, BJP has just five, yes, five, votes more than Congress. So this is not an election to call in a hurry.

Here’s a reality check: At 9.40 am, although the BJP is way ahead at 101 leads against Congress’ 60, it’s a dead heat as far as vote share is concerned.

There is a tough fight between JD(S) and BJP candidate in Bidar South Shailendra Beldale leading with 250 votes while Ashok Kheny lags behind.

JD(S)'s HD Kumaraswamy is leading over the Congress candidate Iqbal Husaain by over 7,000 votes in Ramanagara. He is also ahead in Channapatna constituency.

After the first round of counting for Varuna, S Yathindra leads with 4,526 votes, Abhishek S Manegar is second with 3,978 votes while Thottappa Basavaraju is trailing with 459 votes.

Chief Minister Siddaramiah is narrowly ahead of B Sreeramulu in Badami with a margin of 298 votes at 9.50am.

The BJP was leading in 51 seats while the ruling Congress was in the front in 26 constituencies in Karnataka, according to early trends.

Overseas, markets in Asia were trading mixed as investors assessed the outlook for trade relations between the US and China and tensions in the Middle East.

After opening lower, benchmark Sensex soared over 260 points in early trade today after the BJP took the lead in Karnataka election results.

Vote share of parties as of 10.30 am: BJP slightly ahead of Congress with 38.2%

This is BJP's best-ever result (assuming the numbers hold) in Karnataka and it reverses whatever narrative that may have formed post some bypoll defeats. It also demolishes the urban myth around BJP being a "north Indian" party and that Narendra Modi and Amit Shah's popularity is restricted to the north of Vindhyas.

As BJP seems to be inching closer to the magic figure of 112 (some channels show it has already crossed that mark in terms of leads), it is evident that Karnataka voters have kept alive their practice of changing governments every five years. But it would be a mistake to see this result only from the prism of anti-incumbency.

Shetty defeated Mohideen Bava of Congress. Till now, Congress has won one seat in MAnagluru while two other seats (Moodbidri and Mangalore North) have gone to BJP.

Fireworks, dancing and sloganeering is at full swing near the residence of JD(S) leader GT Deve Gowda, who has gained an emphatic lead over Siddaramaiah in Chamundeswari.

Food and Civil Supplies Minister UT Khader has won the Mangalore seat for Congress with a lead of 18,426 votes.

According to official EC trends, the BJP is leading in 110 seats, Congress 56, JD(S)+ 39 , Others 02.

After 12 rounds of counting, JD(S)' GT Deve Gowda and Congress' S Yathindra both establish unassailable leads in the neighbouring constituencies of Chamundeswari and Varuna respectively. Victory is imminent for both.

Tweeting her congratulations for the winners in the Karnataka Assembly election, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said that had both Congress and JD(S) entered into an alliance, the results would have been 'very different'. "Congratulations to the winners of the Karnataka elections. For those who lost, fight back. If Congress had gone into an alliance with the JD(S), the result would have been different. Very different," she wrote.

Result would have been different with Congress-JD(S) alliance, says Mamata Banerjee

Calling it a historic day for BJP, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said: "Today is a very historic day for BJP. The prime minister's intense campaign on development, and looking at uplifting people from the bottom-most layer, is what the people of Karnataka have chosen. People have rejected Congress' divisive and polarising politics."

Speaking to reporters, Congress minister DK Shivakumar conceded defeat and said, "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 and because of which we lost it."

Rahul Gandhi did his best, but it is we who lost the polls: DK Shivakumar

According to latest trends, BJP is expected to win 18 out of 21 seats in Coastal Karnataka.

The two most important regions where BJP had lost were in Coastal Karnataka and Malnad region. In both these regions, the saffron party has done immensely well.

According to News18 , data suggests that the saffron party has won back the seats it lost during the last polls in 2013.

BJP has won back the seats it lost during last polls in 2013

Despite the fact that Congress has already conceded defeat, the Grand Old Party still has the highest vote share of 37.8 percent. On the other hand, BJP's vote share is 37.1 percent. JD(S) is far below, with 17.4 percent vote share.

"It is getting out of hand, and WhatsApp doesn't know what to do about it," the report quoted Dalit rights activist Nikhil Pahwa as saying. "The difficulty with WhatsApp is that it's impossible to know how this information is spreading. It's very easy for a political party to spread misinformation and no one can trace it back to them."

There is a dark side to this. Some of the messages doing the rounds on these WhatsApp groups have been false and inflammatory.

BJP and Congress claimed that they amassed over 20,000 WhatsApp groups during the run-up to the elections. They boasted that they could reach over 1.5 million supporters in a matter of minutes, according to The Washington Post .

When asked if the Karnataka results hint at a need for leadership change in the party, Gogoi said there is “no question of any change”. “Rahul Gandhiji has proved to be a credible leader. He is the only Congress leader who can pull the party out of the situation it finds itself in,” he said.

However, Gogoi said that the Karnataka Assembly poll results do not reflect on the relevance of the Congress in Indian politics. “Even earlier, we had lost terribly and then had bounced back. This party will always remain relevant in the country’s politics no matter how poll results shape up.”

“It is an unexpected result. Our calculations have been proven wrong, and we will not emerge as the single largest party as we had expected,” former chief minister and veteran Congress leader said Tarun Gogoi said.

Will talk once all the results are out, says Deve Gowda

Benake has won from Belagavi. He said he will get people jailed for raising pro-Pakistan slogans at Gandhi Nagar during campaigning of Congress candidate Feroz Sait.

At that stage, government formation in the southern state could descend down to the level of horse-trading and 'resort politics'. Therefore, unless the BJP clinches the deal by itself, it could be premature to predict a BJP government in Karnataka, just yet. Get ready for stings in the tail.

However, if the BJP manages to secure more than 100 seats and emerge as the single largest party, it is certain to be called up first for government formation and the Karnataka governor will give it enough time to prove its majority on the floor.

If the BJP fails to attain simple majority, a simple mathematical calculation takes Congress plus JD(S) past the mark where they can stake the claim to form the government. If this trend holds, anything is possible because the JD(S) stands to win by backing Congress instead of BJP because it can bargain for the chief minister's post in a post-poll alliance.

After soaring past the magic number of 113, BJP's figures (leads plus wins) have now settled at 105. Congress, at 10 minutes past 2 pm, has 75 while JD(S) has 39.

The Congress and JD(S), eager to seize control, decided to form the first coalition government in the history of Karnataka politics.

The last time there was a hung Assembly in Karnataka, it was during the 2004 state election, when BJP emerged as the largest party in the state with 79 seats. However, it failed to hit the majority mark of 113 in the 224-seat Assembly. This was a time when Siddaramaiah was still a JD(S) leader.

Should the two parties decide to form a post-poll alliance, here's what the numbers would like:

"We accept the mandate of voters of Karnataka because no party has claimed majority so far," said the Karnataka Congress chief G Parameshwara. "Therefore, Congress has decided to support the JD(S)...We will support them to form the government," he added.

"Counting is still on. We are waiting to asses all possibilities. The majority of voters have given us their mandate," said BJP's BS Yeddyurappa. "I don't want to discuss about the possible JD(S)-Congress alliance," he added.

The two parties have also claimed the support of two Independent candidates.

"The people's mandate is obvious. The JD(S) should form government," he said. "We are neither kings nor kingmakers. We are just sevaks of the people," he added.

"Who is BJP to decide our affairs? This is not Manipur, this is Karnataka," Tanveer Ahmed, JDS spokesperson, told CNN-News18.

"JD(S) has been brought to this position with support of the Congress but the people of Karnataka have clearly supported the BJP," he said. "People of Karnataka have voted for change," he added.

"We condemn the sort of politicking that the Congress is indulging and we will determine our next course of action after discussing matters with the party leadership," Yeddurappa said, as he addressed a press conference.

"Congress is trying to subvert popular mandate. Congress is trying to come to power through the backdoor," Yeddyurappa said.

"Talks are still going on and we are trying to find out what they JD(S) wants. It is likely that CM will be Kumaraswamy. But, party is working on finer details. After that, we will see whether deputy CM will be from Congress or not. Other portfolios will be worked subsequently," the leader said.

But talks are on to give it a concrete shape and work on finer details.

Looks like the Congress is not ruling out the possibility of BJP somehow wresting out power from their hands. Sources in the Congress party have told News18 that the party will go to courts if the governor does not invite JD(S)' HD Kumaraswamy to form the government.

Will go to court if governor doesn't invite JD(S) to form govt, says Congress sources

Congress leader DK Shivakumar has reached outside the governor's residence with independent MLA Nagesh H Nagesh from Mulbagal to assert that the independent MLAs are also supporting the Congress.

"We are going to meet the governor. We are the single largest party. We are very happy with the verdict," Yeddyurappa told the reporters. He said he will meet the governor at 5 pm . However, it was not clear whether the party has sought an appointment with the governor or not. Earlier Governor Vajubhai Vala had canceled all appointments until all the numbers were out.

Surrounded by a throng of supporters, HD Kumaraswamy's car could be seen inching towards the Raj Bhawan in Bengaluru. Kumaraswamy had sought an appointment at 5.30 pm. The BJP has also announced that it will meet the governor at 5 pm.

Both HD Kumaraswamy and BS Yeddyurappa, contestants to the chief ministerial posts are enroute the governor's residence. It is not clear whether the Raj Bhawan has given a formal appointment to any one. Yeddyurappa said he had a meeting at 5pm while, Kumaraswamy has asked for an appointment at 5.30 pm.

According to ANI, BJP leaders BS Yeddyurappa , Ananth Kumar, Shobha Karandlaje and Rajeev Chandrasekhar have entered the Raj Bhavan. Before heading to the Raj Bhawan, Yueddyurappa has said that he will form the government 100 percent.

According to media reports, BS Yeddyurappa has appealed to the governor that being the leader of the single largest party he would like to stake a claim at forming the government. He said that he would like to prove his majority in at the floor of the House, CNN-News18 reported.

TMC leader Mamata Banerjee dialed HD Deve Gowda to congratulate him after the results were out. According to CNN-News18, she reportedly urged the JD(S) leader to accept Congress' proposal and stake claim to form government.

According to CNN-News18, Yeddyurappa has reportedly sought seven days time from the governor to prove majority in the House. The BJP, in the final tally, has won 104 seats, followed by the Congress at 78 while the JD(S) bagged 38 seats. The JD(S) and Congress combine come up to 116 well above the half-way mark of 112.

However, it is interesting to note that Manipur and Goa, both now ruled by the BJP, have thrown up different precedents in the past. Congress, despite emerging as the single largest party was not called to form a government. The BJP, which stitched up post-poll alliances was given time to meet the governor and staked claim to form the government.

Speaking to Times Now, constitutional expert and advocate Harish Salve has opined that there is nothing wrong if the governor invites the single largets party (ie the BJP) to form the government. He said the Constitution lays down that the single largest party that is closest to the power should be invited to form the government.

"Leaders of both parties have met the Governor. We have submitted our claim to the governor. The process will take over as soon as the governor makes known his decision. The modalities will be decided later," Parameswara told reporters.

All modalities to be decided later, given unconditional support to JD(S), says G parameswara

"A similar claim has been made to the governor by the JD(S)," he added.

Speaking to the reporters outsude Raj Bhawan, Siddaramaiah said, "We have also communicated our support to JD(S) chief HD Deve Gowda and we will start the process to form a government as soon as the governor makes his decision known,"

Siddaramaiah says process to form govt will begin as soon as governor takes a decision

"According to the norms stated by the EC, a 111 seats are required and our combined numbers meet these requirements so we have a legitimate claim to form the government," Siddaramaiah said.

"The fact that the BJP has made similar claims to revive operation Lotus appears to stem from a similar effort they tried in 2008," Kumaraswamy said.

"We had detailed discussion with the senior leadership of AICC, after which they extended full support to the JDS) to form the government. We then took this claim to the governor, who said that he will take a decision after EC formalizes all results," Kumaraswamy told reporters.

"They tried and succeeded the last time, this time they may try but they will not succeed. We have the support of 118 MLAs including the two independents. So because of the constitutional merit that our claim holds, we must be allowed to form the government," Siddaramaiah told reporters.

Siddaramaiah, speaking to reporters said that the last time BJP tried to usurp power by running operation lotus but this time no such efforts will bear fruit as they are vigilant.

According to India Today, Amit Shah has called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi and apprised him of the situation in Karnataka. The party's parliamentary panel is scheduled to meet at 7 pm to decide the future course of action.

Surjewala said that a similar situation had also prevailed in Meghalaya. "When the post-poll coalition came forward in Goa, Congress had raised objections, and said that the single-largest party should be invited," he said.

"In Goa, Congress emerged as the single largest party. BJP had 12 seats. But the governor invited the post-poll alliance involving BJP to form the government there," Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said. "In March 2017, BJP had won only 21 seats. Despite this, the governor invited the post-poll coalition involving BJP to form the government," he added.

"After consecutive wins, the day of victory in Karnataka is a very auspicious day for our party," Shah said. He claimed that the people of Karnataka has given a overwhelming verdict to oust the Congress.

"Congress used every crooked rule in the book to win the election. A lot of cash was found in raids, in fact, fake voter ID cards were also found. Despite all this the BJP's vote share almost doubled and there seats came down from a 122 to just 78," Shah said.

"I don't know by which analysis is Congress happy. They have lost the elections. Their sitting chief minister could hardly retain the safe seat and lost badly from his traditional seat, if this is not a loss I don't know what is," Shah said.

"This is the 15th election. BJP has already won the last 14 elections. This is the 15th consecutive election where BJP is going to win," Amit Shah told the BJP workers.

He said, "The win in Karnataka is unprecedented and extraordinary because there was a false perception spread by some people that BJP is a northern party, Hindi party. I am very happy that the people have broken such stereotypes."

Addressing the BJP workers, Narendra Modi said that those who tried to divide the people of Karnataka lost.

Congratulating the Karnataka BJP cadre, Narendra Modi said that electoral victories are a result of the cadres hard work. "The smell of their sweat and hard work are making the lotus bloom," Modi said.

"Congress spoke about the north-south divide. Such kind of politics is very harmful for the country. I was afraid that the lack of knowledge of language would hamper my expression. But people of Karnataka gave me so much love that language was never a barrier for me. I will always cherish the affection I received from them. I was able to connect with the public and the people have rejected such divisive politics," Modi said.

Modi said that while on one hand he was happy about the results of Karnataka elections, he was sad about a mishap in his constituency Varanasi. He also slammed the West Bengal government over the panchayat poll violence on Monday that killed over 12 people in different districts. "Not just BJP, workers of other parties were also troubled. Democracy was murdered in Bengal. Earlier, just uttering Bengal's name would incite pride among us, but now it has changed," Modi said.

News18 further reported that if given a choice between Kumaraswamy and Yeddyurappa, Lingayat MLAs in Congress are more likely to go with Yeddyurappa who is a prominent face of the Lingayat community.

According to CNN-News18, at least six Congress MLAs are unhappy with their party lending support to the JD(S) and relinquishing the CM's post. In addition to this, India Today reported that the BJP is in touch with the Congress legislators to explore all possibility of government formation.

Wait for polls in 2 more constituencies - The governor also has the option to keep the House in suspended animation until elections to RR Nagar and Jayanagar assembly constituencies are held. That may put out a clearer picture but it is noteworthy that the BJP is 8 MLAs away from 112, the halfway mark in a full Assembly.

Call JD(S) to form govt - Armed with the support of 118 MLAs, including Congress' 78, the governor may call HD Kumaraswamy to form government as he has the support of maximum number of MLAs.

Invite BJP, being the single largest party - The Constitution lays down that in absence of a majority to a single party or coalition, the single largest party should be called to form the government. Constitutional experts say that there is nothing wrong in governor to calling the single largest party to form governemnt.

The BJP has called a legislative party meet where BS Yeddyurappa will be elected as the leader of the BJP legislators. Speaking to reporters, he said, "Tomorrow at 10:30 am in BJP legislative party meeting, I am going to be elected as party leader. After that all MLAs are going to meet the Governor to request him to allow BJP to form govt. Now the ball is in the court of the Governor. We will do as he decides."

Congress and JD(S) top brass have gathered at Hotel Lalit Ashok to work out the finer details of a hurriedly announced alliance. JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda, his son HD Kumaraswamy and Congress leaders including Siddaramaiah, Ghulam Nabi Azad, DK Shivakumar and Mallikarjun Kharge met to discuss the arrangement of the alliance under Kumarswamy's leadership.

According to CNN-News18, chances are that BJP is going to adopt a wait and watch policy instead of actively wooing legislators from rival parties as it do not want to be sucked into any legal troubles.

Union ministers JP Nadda and Dharmendra Pradhan have been made observers for Karnataka legislative party meeting, which will be held at 10.30 am tomorrow in Bengaluru.

AAP candidates forfeited deposit in all 29 seats the party contested in Karnataka, giving yet another jolt to its attempts to spread its wings outside Delhi and Punjab. Prithvi Reddy, AAP's Karnataka convenor, who took on Congress heavyweight KJ George from the Sarvagnanagar Assembly constituency, could barely manage 1,861 votes coming a distant fourth.

HD Kumaraswamy, speaking to the press after a meeting with Congress leaders, said that the legislature meeting of the two parties will be held tomorrow, after which the MLAs will go and meet the governor again.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, which is short by around 7 MLAs to form a majority government, says that it is positive that the Raj Bhawan will call them to form the government. CNN-News18 quoted sources as saying that the BJP is planning to buy time by staking claim to form government and having to prove their majority later.

BJP confident to get a call from governor, Yeddyurappa says need time to get majority

Speaking on the precedent of government formation in Goa, Kashyap said that the single largest party in Goa failed to stake claim after which the governor called the coalition that had the majority.

Speaking to CNN-News18, constitutional expert Subhash Kashyap said that the Constitution of India very clearly lays down that the governor must appoint the chief minister and that his discretion can't be challenged even by the Supreme Court. He said that the established procedure is that in event of a hung House, the single largest party may be given a chance to acquire majority.

The combined strength of JD(S) and Congress MLAs is going to assert before the governor that their coalition has the requisite majority. The meeting is expected to happen at around 4.00 pm today.

Abhishek Manu Singhvi of the Congress, who has been tasked by his party to explore the legal route, said that he is not assuming that the governor will not act constitutionally. But if so happens, Singhvi said that they will take the matter to Supreme Court.

Wait for polls in 2 more constituencies - The governor also has the option to keep the House in suspended animation until elections to RR Nagar and Jayanagar assembly constituencies are held. That may put out a clearer picture but it is noteworthy that the BJP is 8 MLAs away from 112, the halfway mark in a full Assembly.

Call JD(S) to form govt - Armed with the support of 118 MLAs, including Congress' 78, the governor may call HD Kumaraswamy to form government as he has the support of maximum number of MLAs.

Invite BJP, being the single largest party - The Constitution lays down that in absence of a majority to a single party or coalition, the single largest party should be called to form the government. Constitutional experts say that there is nothing wrong in governor to calling the single largest party to form governemnt.

The BJP has called a legislative party meet where BS Yeddyurappa will be elected as the leader of the BJP legislators. Speaking to reporters, he said, "Tomorrow at 10:30 am in BJP legislative party meeting, I am going to be elected as party leader. After that all MLAs are going to meet the Governor to request him to allow BJP to form govt. Now the ball is in the court of the Governor. We will do as he decides."

Congress and JD(S) top brass have gathered at Hotel Lalit Ashok to work out the finer details of a hurriedly announced alliance. JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda, his son HD Kumaraswamy and Congress leaders including Siddaramaiah, Ghulam Nabi Azad, DK Shivakumar and Mallikarjun Kharge met to discuss the arrangement of the alliance under Kumarswamy's leadership.

According to CNN-News18, chances are that BJP is going to adopt a wait and watch policy instead of actively wooing legislators from rival parties as it do not want to be sucked into any legal troubles.

Union ministers JP Nadda and Dharmendra Pradhan have been made observers for Karnataka legislative party meeting, which will be held at 10.30 am tomorrow in Bengaluru.

AAP candidates forfeited deposit in all 29 seats the party contested in Karnataka, giving yet another jolt to its attempts to spread its wings outside Delhi and Punjab. Prithvi Reddy, AAP's Karnataka convenor, who took on Congress heavyweight KJ George from the Sarvagnanagar Assembly constituency, could barely manage 1,861 votes coming a distant fourth.

HD Kumaraswamy, speaking to the press after a meeting with Congress leaders, said that the legislature meeting of the two parties will be held tomorrow, after which the MLAs will go and meet the governor again.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, which is short by around 7 MLAs to form a majority government, says that it is positive that the Raj Bhawan will call them to form the government. CNN-News18 quoted sources as saying that the BJP is planning to buy time by staking claim to form government and having to prove their majority later.

BJP confident to get a call from governor, Yeddyurappa says need time to get majority

Speaking on the precedent of government formation in Goa, Kashyap said that the single largest party in Goa failed to stake claim after which the governor called the coalition that had the majority.

Speaking to CNN-News18, constitutional expert Subhash Kashyap said that the Constitution of India very clearly lays down that the governor must appoint the chief minister and that his discretion can't be challenged even by the Supreme Court. He said that the established procedure is that in event of a hung House, the single largest party may be given a chance to acquire majority.

The combined strength of JD(S) and Congress MLAs is going to assert before the governor that their coalition has the requisite majority. The meeting is expected to happen at around 4.00 pm today.

Abhishek Manu Singhvi of the Congress, who has been tasked by his party to explore the legal route, said that he is not assuming that the governor will not act constitutionally. But if so happens, Singhvi said that they will take the matter to Supreme Court.

Karnataka Assembly Election Result 2018 LIVE updates: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah praised BJP workers for the Karnataka poll results.

The Congress-JD(S) combine has staked their claim to form a government with the support of 118 MLAs. The party's leader HD Kumaraswamy has garnered support of Congress (78) and two indepedent MLAs, he claimed.

JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy is at the Raj Bhawan along with several Congress leaders. The JD(S) will stake claim to form the government with the support of 116 MLAs.

BJP's chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa has reached the governor's residence and are expected to stake a claim to form government. Meanwhile, JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy is also about to reach the Raj Bhawan shortly.

In a fresh turn now, BJP's BS Yeddyurappa too has sought an appointment with the governor to stake his claim to form the government.

HD Kumaraswamy has sought an appointment with the governor and has said that JD(S) has accepted Congress' support.

JD(S) spokesperson said that BJP had no role in deciding how JD(S) conducted its affairs. "This is not Manipur," said the spokesperson.

In a very significant development, JD(S) has said that it has accepted Congress' offer to form government in the state together.

The outcome of the Karnataka Assembly elections now hinges on whether Congress and JD(S) will indeed come together to form the government.

Siddaramaiah confirmed that the Congress has decided to support the JD(S).

According to news channels, Congress has now offered the chief ministerial post to JD(S)'s HD Kumaraswamy.

BS Yeddyurappa won from Shikaripura seat by over 35,000 votes.

HD Deve Gowda has said that he will talk about the elections once all the results are out.

While Congress is blaming 'personal attacks' made by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah for the election defeat, BJP is saying there is a conscious effort to take credit away from the saffron party.

A report has said that BJP is set to win back the seats it had lost in the 2013 polls.

Speaking to reporters, Congress minister DK Shivakumar conceded defeat and said, "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."

Tweeting her congratulations for the winners in the Karnataka Assembly election, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said that had both Congress and JD(S) entered into an alliance, the results would have been 'very different'. "Congratulations to the winners of the Karnataka elections. For those who lost, fight back. If Congress had gone into an alliance with the JD(S), the result would have been different. Very different," she wrote.

According to official EC trends, the BJP is leading in 110 seats, Congress in 56 seats, JD(S)+ in 39 seats, and Others 2 seats. Meanwhile Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is trailing by over 17,000 votes in Chamundeswari Assembly constituency.

BJP's Bharath Shetty defeated Mohideen Bava of Congress and clinched the Mangalore North constituency. So far, Congress has won one seat in Managluru while two other seats (Moodbidri and Mangalore North) have gone to BJP.

BJP workers erupted in celebration outside the party headquarters in Bengaluru after reports emerged of the party crossing the halfway mark of 112 seats in leads.

Chief Minister Siddaramiah is narrowly ahead of BJP's B Sreeramulu in Badami with a margin of 298 votes at 9.50 am. Meanwhile, his son S Yathindra, is leading with 4,526 votes after the first round of counting for Varuna. Abhishek S Manegar is second with 3,978 votes while Thottappa Basavaraju is trailing with 459 votes.

Among the 49 Mumbai-Karnataka seats, the BJP is leading in 30. Meanwhile, BS Yeddyurappa is leading in Shikaripura by 3,420 votes. Goni Malathesha of Congress is trailing behind.

According to officials Election Commission trends, the BJP is leading in 22 seats with the Congress trailing in 13 seats. Meanwhile, the JD(S) has a lead only in three seats, as per EC data.

JD(S) candidate GT Deve Gowda is currently leading with 5,016 votes in the Chamundeswari Assembly constituency while Siddaramiah trails behind him.

According to CNN-News18, the BJP is leading in Lingayat dominated areas across the state and coastal Karnataka as well. Meanwhile, JD(S) is gaining a stronger foothold in the southern parts of the state.

As per early trends, both BJP and Congress in Karnataka are neck-and-neck with leading 24 seats each. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, however, is trailing in Chamundeswari Assembly constituency.

The counting of votes across 38 centres in the state began on Tuesday, with postal ballots being counted first amid heavy security. As per CNN-News18, JD(S) chief ministerial candidate and party chief HD Deve Gowda's son, HD Kumaraswamy is currently leading in Ramanagara Assembly constituency.

As counting began across 38 centres in Karnataka, senior leaders from JD(S), BJP and Congress sought divine intervention to ensure their victory in the polls. With results being announced on Amavasya, JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda decided to perform Amavasya pooja to ward off "evil spirits". HD Kumaraswamy also offered special pooja on Tuesday at the Kalabhaireswara Temple in Mandya. Similarly, BJP's chief ministerial face, BS Yeddyurappa also received special prasad from the Yediyur Siddalingeshwara Temple. A 'havan' is being conducted at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi.

Ahead of counting of votes in Karntaka, 50,000 police personnel have been deployed across 38 counting centres in the state with 11,000 personnel in Bengaluru alone. One Rapid Action Force (RAF) company and 20 Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) companies have also been deployed in Bengaluru, reported ANI.

Reports emerged on Monday about a large number of postal ballots being discovered in a hotel room in Badami in Karnataka. The Election Commission issued a clarification on Tuesday morning that an investigation by the Tahsildar and the Assistant Returning Officer yielded only two pages of instructions on how to exercise postal ballot but no postal ballots.

Counting for the Karnataka Assembly election 2018 will be held across a total of 38 centres in 33 election districts. Chitradurga, Dakshina Kannada and Mysuru have two centres, Tumakuru has three and the rest of the districts one each.

Security has been tightened across Karnataka with forces deployed outside counting centres ahead of counting of votes at 8 am on Tuesday.

The counting of votes for the Karnataka Assembly elections 2018 will be taken up on Tuesday with pollsters saying they would likely go down to the wire, with a neck and neck race between the state's ruling Congress and challenger BJP.

Several exit polls have predicted a hung Assembly in Karnataka, and said former prime minister HD Deve Gowda's JD(S) would play the role of the kingmaker. In one of the most high-profile and bitterly fought elections in recent times, 222 of the 224 seats went to polls on 12 May. Polling for RR Nagar seat was deferred on account of alleged electoral malpractices, while it was countermanded in Jayanagar seat following the death of the BJP candidate.

Counting of votes would begin at 8 am in nearly 40 counting centres, election office sources said. The trends are likely to begin to trickle within an hour and all results are expected to be declared by late evening.

In case of a clear verdict in favour of the Congress, the grand old party will have broken the jinx of no political party retaining the reins of the state since 1985, when the erstwhile Janata Dal formed the government under Ramakrishna Hegde for a second consecutive term. It is, however, unclear if Siddaramaiah, a backward class leader with a formidable reputation, will be the next chief minister in the event of a Congress victory.

Though the Congress had said he would be its face in the elections, it stopped short of declaring him the party's chief ministerial candidate.

Siddaramaiah caused a political flutter when he said yesterday that he was ready to make way for a Dalit chief minister if the Congress high command so decided, a statement many felt was aimed at keeping the JD(S) in good humour so as to stitch an alliance in case of a fractured mandate.

Siddramaiah is a former JD(S) man and his ties with Deve Gowda's party continue to be strained.

"I am confident that the Congress would win the elections with a majority and I would be the chief minister," Siddaramaiah had told journalists earlier. However, when asked on Sunday if he was ready to make way for a Dalit leader as chief minister, he said,"I have no objection. I am not against anybody but the decision has to be left to the high command."

He, however, said the high command would also consider the views of the winning candidates before deciding the next chief minister.

Since the Congress had not declared its chief ministerial candidate, Dalit veterans in the party like its leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and state Congress chief G Parameshwara are being seen as possible alternatives. Kharge had recently told PTI he was ready to take up any role assigned to him by the party.

A victory in Karnataka would help boost the sagging morale of the Congress, which is on a downhill journey, losing state after state since Narendra Modi came to power at the Centre. Losing Karnataka will drastically weaken its claim for the leadership of a broader anti-BJP alliance that is being talked about.

A victory for the BJP, on the other hand, will reflect the enduring charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his capacity to power his party to victory across the country, clearing demographic and topographical obstacles.

It would also further galvanise the BJP cadre before the Assembly elections in party-ruled Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh later this year. The JD(S) has also claimed it would win a majority and that its chief ministerial candidate HD Kumaraswamy will be the "king" and not the "kingmaker".

The party may or may not win the elections, but will play the kingmaker if the electorate gives a split verdict, making Deve Gowda an important player in the state politics once again.

With the JD(S) having had partnered with both BJP and Congress in the past, it would be tough to predict which way it will go this time in the event of a hung House.

One of the possible scenarios could be the coming together of the Congress and the JD(S), as had happened in 2004 when they formed the government under Congress heavyweight Dharm Singh after the state elected a hung House. If that happens, JD(S) may not agree to Siddaramaiah heading a coalition government and likely want a Dalit leader at the helm

The Congress is taking no chances in Karnataka and has sent in its top guns to avoid a repeat of the Goa and Manipur fiascos in the past, where it failed to form a government despite emerging as the largest party. The party has sent senior leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot to the southern state where results of the Assembly polls would be out on Tuesday. Sources said Azad and Gehlot have reached Bangalore and have met chief minister Siddharamaiah and other party leaders. They are also likely to meet JD-S leaders, including H D Deve Gowda and his son Kumaraswamy, in case it fails to get a majority of its own.

Click here for more updates on Karnataka Assembly election 2018

With inputs from PTI