Karnataka election campaign ends; Shah says BJP will win at least 130 seats

Karnataka Assembly election 2018: For BJP, Amit Shah, B S Yeddyurappa campaigned in state today, while Rahul Gandhi and Siddaramaiah campaigned for Congress on the final day

Fever pitch campaigning in Karnataka for assembly elections to be held on Saturday (May 12) came to an end on Thursday evening at 5 pm. The campaigning by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) was electric in content and delivery, ranging from mud-slinging of rival opponents to religion. The run-up to the elections saw top ministers and leaders from every party, attempting to woo voters across the state with their signature campaigning styles. Till the very last minute, the BJP consistently sought to expose the Congress for allegedly resorting to foul means to win the elections.

For the BJP, party president Amit Shah and the party's chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa campaigned in the state today, while Congress chief Gandhi and incumbent Chief Minister Siddaramaiah campaigned for their party on the final day.

On Thursday, hours before the curtains came down on campaigning, key leaders, Rahul Gandhi, Piyush Goyal and Amit Shah addressed separate press conferences during which they highlighted key aspects and focus areas of each party's campaign that lasted close to two months. The BJP believes that a win in Karnataka will be its gateway to dominating politics in the South. The Congress is of the view that a win in Karnataka will give it the clout in requires to challenge the BJP in the 2019 general elections, while the Janata Dal (Secular) is essaying the kingmaker's role in anticipation of a possible split verdict.

The surfacing of a number of fake voter identity cards from an apartment in Bengaluru's Jalahalli area and the Election Commission stepping in to investigate it has dominated the media space over the last 48 hours. Both the Congress and the BJP continue to indulge in charges and counter-charges.

Apart from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress chief Gandhi, the Karnataka election campaign has also seen political heavyweights Sonia Gandhi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath campaign for their respective parties.

In the 225-member state legislative assembly, including one nominated member, a party requires 113 legislators to form a government with a simple majority. Polling, however, will be held in 223 constituencies across the state instead of 224 seats due to countermanding of the election in Bengaluru's Jayanagar segment following the death of BJP contestant B N Vijaya Kumar on May 4. Ironically, BJP lost in the 2013 Assembly to the Congress after Yeddyurappa left it in 2012 and formed the Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP) in 2013 to win six seats and reducing it to 40 seats across the state. The counting of votes and announcement of result will take place on May 15.

Here are the top ten developments regarding the May 12 Karnataka Assembly election 2018:

1. Campaigning in poll-bound Karnataka ends: The vitriol-filled campaign for the Karnataka Assembly elections ended today with top leaders of the BJP and Congress, including Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi, making a last-gasp effort to sway the voters in a likely cliffhanger.

From corruption to communalism, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's Rs 7 million (Rs 70 lakh) Hublot watch to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin, the electoral potboiler had it all.

Karnataka election: Rahul slams Modi over BJP leader bribery sting; updates

With just one more day to go for the Karnataka Assembly election, the voter ID card row continues while the Congress corners BJP over an alleged bribery sting. Catch all Karnataka polls updates here

With voting just a day away, the BJP and Congress' high-voltage campaign for the Karnataka Assembly election 2018 has ended. The campaigning in the run-up to the crucial polls saw everything from a cross-fire of barbs to a voter ID row. On the last day, Congress President Rahul Gandhi slammed the Modi government for issues ranging from atrocities against Dalits to the country's foreign policy as he expressed confidence in winning the Karnataka polls "hands down". BJP President Amit Shah, meanwhile, accused the Congress of making desperate attempts to win the election in an "undemocratic" way, adding that such machinations would not work and that his party would win 130-plus seats. On Saturday, voters in the state will decide who got it right.

The Congress' candidate from Bengaluru's Raja Rajeshwari Nagar Assembly segment has been booked in connection with the recovery of close to 10,000 voter ID cards from a flat there, along with over 100,000 counterfoils resembling acknowledgement slips used for addition of names into electoral rolls. Further, the Election Commission (EC) on Thursday night deferred a decision on the recovery of voter ID cards from the Raja Rajeshwari Nagar flat, even as it sought fresh information from the state election machinery.

Of course, the end of the official election campaign at 5 pm on Thursday did not mean that the allegations and accusations also stopped. Rahul Gandhi on Thursday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over allegations that BJP leader B Sriramulu had bribed former Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan. The accusation is based on a "sting" video showing the state BJP leader allegedly trying to bribe a kin of the former Chief Justice of India to get a favourable verdict for mining baron G Janardhana Reddy in an illegal mining case. State electoral authorities on Thursday directed TV news channels not to air the video.

The election in 223 of the 224 constituencies in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly will be held on May 12, and the counting of votes and announcement of the result will take place on May 15. The election for one constituency has been postponed following the death of B N Vijay Kumar, the Jayanagar BJP candidate.

Here are the top 10 developments around the Karnataka Assembly election 2018:

1) Rahul Gandhi says Modi, Yeddyurappa getting ready to 'loot Karnataka', cites 'sting' video: Rahul Gandhi on Thursday attacked Modi, alleging that BJP's B Sriramulu had bribed former CJI Balakrishnan, seeking an order favouring a mining company owned by G Janardhan Reddy. Levelling the charge, the Congress party also demanded a high-level inquiry into the matter.

"This is how Modi and Yeddy (B S Yeddyurappa) are getting 'Reddy' to loot Karnataka. Fortunately, the people of Karnataka will not let that happen," tweeted Gandhi as he attached a National Herald news report with a headline "Sting videos: Congress alleges BJP's B. Sriramulu involved in bribing then CJI in 2010".

The news report said: "Alleging that then Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishna gave a favourable order to a mining company owned by G Janardhan Reddy a day before the CJI retired in 2010, Karnataka Congress claimed on Thursday that Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) had been paid by Reddy for the order."

"Just one day before CJI Balakrishnan retired, he passed an order in a case related to Reddy brothers mining company," Karnataka Congress tweeted quoting state's working President Dinesh Gundu Rao. "Now, several videos have been released which show how bribe deals were done between CJI's son-in-law and Sriramulu/Reddy brothers," Karnataka Congress tweeted Rao's statement at a press conference.