Karnataka Election Results: BJP hold edge in smaller constituencies as Congress continues to surge ahead

BJP appears to have an advantage in geographically smaller constituencies (less than 100 sq km and generally urban). BJP leads in 23 of the 33 smaller seats. The Congress is leading in more seats in the Kalyan Karnataka, Kittur Karnataka and South regions. The BJP is leading in Bangalore and coastal Karnataka regions. A party or a coalition needs to win 113 seats to secure a majority in the 224-member Karnataka Assembly.Among those who are leading are Siddaramaiah in Varuna, Basavraj Bommai in Shiggaon, and DK Shivakumar in Kanakapura. JD(S)’s Nikhil Kumaraswamy is leading from Ramanagara and IT Minister Dr. Ashwanth Narayan is leading from Malleshwaram. Congress has started converting its leads into wins. Some seats are still close, but in many other seats, the present trend is expected to hold with only a few more rounds of counting left.

Reacting to the early trends where Congress is leading, former chief minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah said he was confident that the party will win more than 120 seats. "The BJP might win 65-70 seats while JD(S) will win 25 seats," he said.  Siddaramaiah also expressed his confidence in winning from the Varuna constituency. "Even if Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah campaign in Karnataka it will not work as the people of the state are fed up of the anti-public policies of the BJP and corruption and other issues," he said. Congress credited  Rahul Gandhi for party's resurgence. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has expressed confidence that the ruling BJP will cross the "magic number" with a clear majority. "We are confident that we will win and cross the magic number. We have got the ground report from all the booths and the constituencies". On being asked about Congress having allegedly booked resorts to keep the flock together, Mr Bommai said the grand old party will not get a majority and hence they are in touch with other parties.