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Karnataka Assembly Election 2018 Updates


*The elections were held in 222 Assembly constituencies. Elections in RR Nagar constituency has been deferred to May 28, while the elections in Jayanagar constituency have been postponed due to death of BJP MLA and contestant B N Vijaykumar. The dates for Jayanagar polls will be updated as EC notification.

Schedule for General Election to the Legislative Assembly of Karnataka, 2018

Poll EventsScheduleDay
Date of Issue of Gazette Notification17. Apr. 2018Tue
Last Date of Nominations24. Apr. 2018Tue
Date for Scrutiny of Nominations25. Apr. 2018Wed
Last Date for Withdrawal of candidatures27. Apr. 2018Fri
Date of Poll12. May. 2018Sat
Date of Counting15. May. 2018Tue
Date before which election shall be completed18. May. 2018Fri


Karnataka Assembly Election 2018


Karnataka Legislative Assembly Election 2018 were held in 222 constituencies on May 12 and counting of votes took place on May 15, while the elections for R R Nagar and Jayanagar assembly constituencies have been postponed till later. This year's elections saw more than 70 per cent voter turnout across the state out of approximately 4,90,06,901 electorates. Some of notable constituencies were Mangalore, Raichur, Bellary, Mysore, Chamundeshwari, Bijapur North, Bijapur South, Udupi and Badami.

Current Scenario


The electorates of Karnataka delivered a fractured mandate, but, the BJP has staked their claim for the the formation of the new government, B S Yeddyurappa has sworn in as the 23rd Chief Minister of Karnataka. BJP has emerged as the single largest party with 104 seats, followed by Congress on 78, and JD(S) is distant third with 37 seats.


Defection: Played a major role in Congress defeat


Congress suffered a blow ahead of the 2018 Karnataka assembly election as many of its veteran party leaders defected to BJP. First, it was former cabinet minister Srinivas Prasad and then came the resignation of the former CM S M Krishna. Other senior leaders like MLC D Made Gowda too quit the party and there is further possibility that others will follow the suit too.

Anti-Incumbency Factor: May Prove a Downfall for the Congress


Another problem that Congress faced was the increasing crime record of the state and the Congress rule in the state was far from being given a clean chit. Under Siddaramaiah's government, Karnataka was listed in states with the highest corruption and regular surfacing of scam reports did not help the case either. The anti-incumbency factor also worked against the INC.

Caste equation played against for the Congress


According to the reports, the Lingayats had dropped down to 9.8% in population, while earlier it was 17%. This posed a problem for parties relying on the Lingayat vote bank. Congress' attempt to give religious minority status to the Lingayats backfired on the party. Congress in the last Karnataka assembly elections, won by bagging 15% of the community's vote. But somehow, it failed to create a similar impact due to revival of BJP and veteran Lingayat leader B S Yeddyurappa. The top slot among the minority was taken by the Dalits, who accounted for 18% of the state's voter population. But the AHINDA card played by Siddaramaiah wasn't successful in garnering the votes of the community. The situation for Congress, however, was not completely bleak as the party performed well in some regions including urban pockets of Bengaluru. To woo the communities, CM Siddaramaiah tried taking all the necessary steps from distributing free laptops to promising a rise in the reservation form 50 per cent to 70 per cent, but none of it could stop the anti-incumbency wave against the party, a trend in state since last 30-odd years.

BJP were geared up


While Congress was climbing the mountains to sway the votes, BJP were a step ahead of the grand old party. BJP national president Amit Shah, BJP Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and Prime Minister Narendra Modi strategised the victory, as both the leaders along with several other Ministers and leaders of the party campaigned extensively across the state including 150 rallies and roadshows on the last day of campaigning. He also conducted a meeting with the party's MPs and legislators. It was one of the fiercest competition, as the result day provided several surprises before Governor intervened to invite BJP to form the government in Karnataka as it was the single largest party. It took one day for Governor to invite the party, as huge political drama unfolded.




Last Updated on April 14, 2020