Live Updates: Karnataka votes to elect new state government
Live Updates as 4.98 crore voters decide the fates of over 2,600 candidates contending for 224 seats in Karnataka assembly elections today, May 12, 2018
The EC records 70% voter turnout in Karnataka.
At least 70 per cent voters exercised their franchise for Karnataka Assembly polls on Saturday, the Election Commission said.
Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha said the figure was likely to go up as data was still being collated from various polling stations where people queued up beyond 6 p.m. when the voting was supposed to end.
The Election Commission said the polling percentage may breach the 71.4 per cent mark recorded in the 2013 Assembly election in Karnataka which has nearly 5.07 crore voters.
Republic TV's 'Poll of Exit Polls' predicts 73-82 seats for Congress, puts BJP's seats between 95 and 114. The JD(S) would win between 32 and 43 seats, according to the poll.
ABP-C Voter exit poll says BJP will emerge as the single largest party, bagging between 97 and 109 seats. The poll puts Congress’ seats at 87-99, while giving the JD(S) 21-30 seats.
NDTV's 'Poll of Polls' predicts a tie between Congress and the BJP in Karnataka, says each party will win on 94 seats.
Times Now exit poll predicts 90-103 seats for Congress in Karnataka, puts BJP's seats between 80 and 93. The JD(S) would win between 31 and 39 seats, according to the poll.
Congress would emerge as the largest party in Karnataka, says India Today-Axis exit poll, predicting between 102 and 118 seats for the party. The poll gives the BJP between 75 and 92 seats, while Janata Dal (S) would emerge victorious on 22-30 constituencies.
"Voted. For inclusiveness, for One India and One Karnataka," tweets former foreign secretary Nirupama Rao.
I will win In Chamundeshwari & Badami At Any Cost: CM Siddaramaiah
Voting stalled in Chamrajnagar due to EVM malfunction, reports Times Now
'PM Modi violated poll code by visiting temples in Nepal', reports PTI quoting Congress leader Ashok Gehlot
Congress leader Ashok Gehlot accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of trying to “influence” voters in Karnataka on the polling day through his temple visits in Nepal, reports PTI. Taking objection to PM Modi's prayers at Nepal temples in Kathmandu today, Gehlot said, "As there is Model Code of Conduct in Karnataka, PM Modi planned to pray at temples in Nepal instead, just to influence voters. This is not a good trend for democracy. Why did he only choose today as the day?"
Majority of the 3500 residents of Chittapur taluk's Tarkaspet village in Kalburagi district boycott elections, reports ANI
Donning a wedding gown, she casts vote moments before marriage, reports Deccan Herald
Two voters die of heart attacks at polling booths, reports Deccan Herald
Two voters died of heart attack at the polling booths in the separate incidents on Saturday, according to a report by Deccan Herald.
“While one died before exercising his franchise, another died after casting his vote,” the report said.
In Belthangady Assembly constituency in Dakshina Kannada district, a 70-year-old voter died of heart attack while he was waiting in the queue to cast his vote at Andinje booth. “Anni Acharya, a resident of Jarigedadi, accompanied by his nephew had come to the booth to exercise his voting right. While waiting for his turn in a queue, he collapsed and died en route to hospital,” the report read.
In the second incident, the report said that in Pandavapura Assembly constituency, Tammegowda (55) died of cardiac arrest after he cast his vote at Vaddarahalli booth. He was suffering from a prolonged illness and was brought to the booth on a wheelchair, report added.
Watch: Hogarti villagers in Bailhongal boycott polling
The villagers are agitated over the murder of a four month pregnant woman. She was reportedly killed at Hunasikatti village of Kittur and eventually police arrested her husband Suresh. Villagers have been demanding the arrested of parents and relatives of Suresh as well.
“The villagers gathered in large numbers at the polling station and boycotted elections, pressing for their demands,” S Shankar Patil of 101Reporters network reported. “The police are trying to convince them to vote.”
Low voter turnout across Bengaluru, reports News 9
43-degree Celsius temperature in Kalaburgi affects the voter turn out, reports ANI
Bride and groom participate in the festival of democracy
"People line up to vote for a Congress Government," tweets Karnataka Congress
Paralysed woman casts vote in Chitapur constituency
56% voter turnout recorded till 3 pm, reports ANI
Amit Shah is like a comedy show, PM Modi’s speeches hollow and ineffective, says CM Siddaramaiah
Watch: Voting is only one act of citizenship, says Ram Guha
Voting is only one act of citizenship. Citizenship is an everyday affair, historian, writer and Bengaluru resident Ram Guha tells @thenewsminute while expounding if Karnataka is the semi-final to 2019 elections, on the significance of past electoral trends and more. “The national media is only interested in elections. They will forget about us for the next five years.”
Former Foreign Minister SM Krishna casts vote in Bengaluru
'Yeddyurappa is mentally disturbed': Siddaramaiah
Sharply reacting to BJP's chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa's statement that he would form government in the state on May 17,Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has quipped, "He's mentally disturbed." Amidst the polling for Karnataka Assembly, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence that Congress would again form the government in the state with a clear majority while speaking to media this afternoon.
Bengaluru Urban records lowest voter turnout of 28% as of 1 pm, Dakshina Kannada highest at 47%
Karnataka Minister DK Shivakumar in queue to cast vote
Red carpet for voters in Mangaluru
Passengers suffering lack of buses on roads, reports TV9
37% voter turnout recorded till 1 pm
Everyone should vote, says Yamini Mazumdar, 72
People will reject national parties, vote for JD(S)-BSP alliance: Danish Ali, JD(S)
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah casts vote in Siddaramanahundi, Varuna, tweets "Karnataka voters as always will display political maturity & will begin a change that our country needs the most. Please go out & vote for an inclusive & peaceful Karnataka."
JDS has distributed a lot of money: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah
Clashes breakout between BJP-Congress workers in Hampi Nagar
Woman wearing burqa stopped from entering booth
BJP-JD(S) workers clash in Yelahanka
BJP workers attack Congress worker in Tumakuru, reports NEWS9
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah casts his vote at his native village of Siddaramanahundi in Varuna, Mysuru district
Rajimon Meethal, 47, wears 1.75 kg of gold to the booth in Shimoga
Former Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde casts his vote at a polling booth in Bengaluru, reports ANI
MB Patil, Minister for Water Resources, casts his vote In Babaleshwar, reports TV9 Kannada
SC lawyer Brijesh Kalappa who said voting had stopped at a booth in RMV II Stage, Bengaluru because all votes going to BJP, says EVM issue resolved and polling has resumed
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah says, Congress will get more than 120 seats
BJP workers protest outside polling booth in Karadigudda, alleging that poll staff were asking people to vote for Congress, reports ANI
Faulty EVM reported in Piriyapattana, Mysore, voters wait in queue, reports TV9
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah in Varuna, Mysuru: “We are very-very confident that Congress party will come back to power with complete majority”; reports ANI
BJP's B.Sriramalu casts his vote in Bellary, reports ANI
Actress Leelavathi, Vinod Raj cast their votes in Nelamangala, reports TV9
Congress MP for Kalaburgi and party leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge casts his vote in Basavanagar, reports ANI
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah’s son Yathindra, Congress candidate for Varuna seat, exudes confidence, reports ANI
105 year old Shankramma votes in Koppal with her great grand daughter
JDS Lok Sabha MP for Mandya Chaluvarayaswamy casts his vote, reports TV9 Kannada
JDS’ CM face HD Kumaraswamy and wife Anitha cast their votes in Ramanagara, reports ANI
Jagadish Shettar casts his vote in Hubli, reports TV9
Karnataka records 24% voter turnout in first four hours, reports ANI
Bride Viola Fernandes casts her vote before going for her wedding Mangaluru, reports TV9
After Amit Shah, Union MInister Rajyavardhan Rathore uses Congress party's 'Nava Karnataka' election slogan for Karnataka campaign in appeal to vote
Sitting JDS Mahalakshmi Layout MLA K Gopalaiah casts his vote
Minister for Small Scale Industries and sitting Congress Gokak MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi casts vote at Gokak, Belagavi, reports NEWS9
Sri Sri Ravishankar casts his vote at a polling booth in Kanakapura
Bride in wedding finery excercised her franchise in Kodagu, reports ToI
111-year-old Siddaganga mutt seer casts his vote on mutt premises in Tumakuru, reports NEWS9
Election ambassador and cricketer Rahul Dravid comes to vote, reports TNIE
BS Yeddyurappa tweets: "Voting is not only a right, but ones duty as well. I have done my part today. And I urge my dear fellow citizens of Karnataka to please exercise your democratic right & cast your vote as early as possible"
70-year-old voter gets heart attack, passes away en route to casting his vote in Mangaluru, reports NEWS9
Congress Byatarayanapura sitting MLA and Minister for Agriculture Krishna Byre Gowda votes, asks voters to cast their vote before rains hit in afternoon
On Rajath Bhat's list of things to do before wedding tomorrow—vote! @realRajathBhat
BJP MP for Patna Sahib Shatrughan Sinha lashes out at PM for making "make mocking definitions of another national political party in election"
Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress MP for Kalburgi says confident that BJP won't get more than 60-70 seats
Brijesh Kalappa says 3 complaints of malfunctioning EVM/VVPAT received from Ramanagara, Chamarajpet and Hebbal; Congress taking up issues with EC
BJP CM face BS Yeddyurappa looks sombre after voting but confidently declares he will take oath on May 17
Sitting JDS MLA for Holenarsipur HD Revanna casts his vote, reports NEWS9
Umashree, sitting Congress MLA and Minister for Women and Child Development, Kannada and Culture casts her vote at Rabakavi in Bagalkot, reports NEWS9
Gurusidda Rajayogindra Mahaswami of Moorusavir Math casts his vote in Hubbali, reports ANI
Sitting JD(S) MLA Madhu Bangarappa casts his vote at Sorab in Shimoga district, central Karnataka
Transgender rights activists Akkai Padmashali votes, reports Bangalore Mirro
District Election Officer, Kalaburagi tweets photos of all women 'Sakhi Pink Booth' in Kalaburgi
After abusing poll staff for arresting his unruly worker, Hebbal BJP MLA Narayanaswamy seeks votes at polling booth as JDS objects, reports CNN News18
Former Karnataka CM and BJP candidate for Hubbali-Dharwad East Jagdish Shettar casts his vote in Hubbali
Anil Kumble in line with family to vote; urges all to exercise their right to vote @anilkumble1074
10.6% turnout recorded in Karnataka till 9 am, reports Outlook
BJP worker at Hebbala, Bengaluru arrested for "threatening" voters not to vote before local BJP MLA Narayanaswamy casts his vote, reports CNN News18
BJP President Amit Shah repeats Congress campaign slogan 'Nava Karnataka' in his appeal to voters
SC lawyer @brijeshkalappa says voters angry as any button pressed on EVM in a booth in RMV II Stage in Bengaluru is registering vote only to BJP
Voting underway on a brisk note across Karnataka
Still awaiting first turnout figures but visibly there is brisk voting in Karnataka since polls opened early morning today, with people lined up outside polling booths as early as 6.30 am to cast their ballots
Former Prime Minister and JD(S) chief HD Deve Gowda votes in Hole Narsipura, Mysuru district, reports NDTV
Bengaluru Development and Town Planning Minister KJ George casts his vote at Mahadevapura, Bengaluru, reports NEWS9
Actor Ramesh Aravind casts his vote at in Padmanabha Nagar, Bengaluru, reports NEWS9
Karnataka Congress women's wing chief Laxmi Hebbalkar votes in Belagavi; Hebbalkar is contesting from Belagavi Rural seat
Weather holds so far as Karnataka votes; Vote early to avoid rain forecast for later
Voters curse Election Commission as three booths in Mahadevapura, Bengaluru plagued by mosquitos, reports CNN News18
BJP leader Narayanaswamy abuses voting staff for arresting his men for stalling the voting, reports CNN News18
Actor @Jaggesh2 votes in Malleshwaram, reports NEWS9
BJP leader B Sriramulu, caught in a sting tape controversy, performs cow pooja before voting, reports ToI
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah tweets: "Today People of Karnataka are standing in queues to create history & show the nation the way to liberal, progressive, peaceful & compassionate politics & governance. I thank them for their support & wish them well"
JD(S) CM face HD Kumaraswamy meets Adichunchanagiri mutt seer in Vijaya Nagar, reports NEWS9
Karnataka Congress chief G Parameshwara casts his vote at Tumakuru Rural
A voter travelled back home to Basavanagudi in Bengaluru from Malaysia to cast his vote, reports TNIE
Sitting Chamundeshwari JDS MLA GT Deve Gowda casts his vote; CM Siddaramaiah hopes to unseat him here
Mysore prince Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar stands in line to cast his vote
Internationally famous sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik in Puri, Odisha made a sand art appeal to Karnataka voters to come out and vote
Polling delays reported in some booths in Hubbali and Hoskote to malufunctions and technical issues
HD Deve Gowda, Janata Dal (Secular) chief, offers prayers on voting day
Good turnout within the first hour of polling at Shanti Nagar seat in central Bengaluru, reports Twitter user @gopibella
Congress candidate NA Haris is facing BJP’s K Vasudevamurthy and NR Sridhar Reddy of JD(S) here; Shanti Nagar is seeing a total of 18 candidates contesting
Voting in candlelight in Rajaji Nagar, Bengaluru due to power cut; G Padmavathi of Congress, S Suresh Kumar of BJP and HM Krishnamurthhy of JD(S) are contenders in this seat
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar arrives to vote in Bengaluru, reports Twitter user @NITINKML
Twitter user Nitin Seshadri posts photo of massive queue of voters as early as 7.30 am in Koramangala, Bengaluru
You can vote even without EPIC/Voter ID
The Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer has said that anyone whose name is on the electoral roll can cast their vote even without EPIC/Voter ID. Just carry a standard government-issued and accepted ID proof like passport, driving license, Aadhaar card, ECHS card, etc
Suttur Mutt seer casts his vote in Krishnaraja constituency in Mysuru district; Congress candidate Shakuntala Shetty is facing off here against JD(S)' IC Kailas Gowda and BJP's Sanjeeva Matandoor
A voter brings her doggie along for company as she stands in line to cast her vote in BTM Layout, Bengaluru
Union Minister and BJP leader Sadananda Gowda casts his vote in Puttur, Dakshina Kannada district
People cast their votes in BTM Layout in south Bengaluru, where Karnataka Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy is fighting against BJP's Lallesh Reddy and JD(S)' K Devadas
Voters queue up in Badami, where chief minister Siddaramaiah is contesting
BJP CM candidate BS Yeddyurappa casts his vote in Shikaripura, Shimoga district in Central Karnataka
Voting has begun in 222 seats
Voters have started casting their votes for 222 out of 224 seats today. Voting in two seats in Bengaluru has been postponed due to the death of the BJP candidates. Voting in a third seat Rajarajeshwari Nagar has been postponed to May 28 after over 9,700 voter IDs were found in a flat in the constituency
Rain predicted in many parts of Karnataka; Rahul Gandhi tells Congress workers to help voters reach booths
Good morning and welcome to National Herald's live blog on polling day for Karnataka assembly election 2018
Follow for live updates on all developments as Karnataka votes to elect a new state government today. Will Siddaramaiah remain the chief minister or will BS Yeddyurappa unseat him? Will HD Kumaraswamy play any role in government formation? 4.98 crore voters will decide all this today
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