8.21% Voter Turnout Recorded Till 9 A.M. In Karnataka Assembly Elections
Update: 2023-05-10 10:22 IST
8.21% Voter Turnout Recorded Till 9 A.M. In Karnataka Assembly Elections
On Wednesday morning, the voting to choose the 16th Karnataka Legislative Assembly began under strict security measures. In the first two hours of voting in the Karnataka Assembly elections, voter turnout was 8.21%, according to the Election Commission.
Beginning at 7 a.m., voting will go on until 6 p.m. Due to the tight race between the state's two major political parties, brisk voting is anticipated throughout the state.
By winning a simple majority for the first time in the state, which is seen as the entrance to South India, the ruling BJP hopes to make political history. In the 2008 Assembly elections, the saffron party garnered 110 seats, and in the 2018 Assembly elections, 104 seats. The formation of governments "through operation Lotus" was successful on both instances. The opposition Congress seeks to retake power, riding high on anti-incumbency. The state has gone 38 years without electing a new administration. The last party to win reelection in 1985 was the Janata Party government, which was headed by the late Chief Minister Ramakrishna Hegde. According to the Congress, every one of its own internal polls showed that it would win the state's election.
113 votes are needed for a simple majority in the 224 Assembly constituencies up for election. The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are attempting to gain entry to the Karnataka legislature for the first time.
Meanwhile, three Chief Ministers served during the previous term (2018-2023): H.D. Kumaraswamy of the JD(S), B.S. Yediyurappa, and Basavaraj Bommai of the BJP.