08:39 am: Region-wise trends:
Central Karnataka (35 seats)
BJP 10
Cong 17
JDS+ 2
Others 0
Hyderabad Karnataka (31 seats)
BJP 8
Cong 10
JDS+ 0
Others 0
Mumbai Karnataka (50 seats)
BJP 15
Cong 12
JDS+ 1
Others 0
Coastal Karnataka (21 seats)
BJP 15
Cong 5
JDS+ 1
Others 0
South Karnataka (55 seats)
BJP 7
Cong 6
JDS+ 13
Others 0
Greater Bengaluru (30 seats)
BJP 12
Cong 12
JDS+ 0
Others 0
08:37 am: (157/222) BJP ahead on 69 seats, Congress on 72 seats and JDS+ on 16 seats
08:33 am: (142/222) BJP ahead on 64 seats, Congress on 64 seats and JDS+ on 12 seats.
08:31 am: (130/222) BJP ahead on 58 seats, Congress ahead on 60 and JDS+ on 12 seats
08:28 am: (118/222) BJP ahead on 55 seats, Congress on 51 seats, JDS+ on 12 seats
08:25 am:
08:24 am: (93/222) BJP ahead on 42 seats, Congress on 41 seats and JDS+ on 10 seats.
08:19 am: (73/222) Congress ahead on 33 seats, BJP on 31 seats and JDS+ on 9 seats.
08:17 am: Region-wise early trends:
Central Karnataka (35 seats)
BJP 7
Cong 6
JDS+ 2
Others 0
Hyderabad Karnataka (31 seats)
BJP 2
Cong 3
JDS+ 0
Others 0
Mumbai Karnataka (50 seats)
BJP 6
Cong 8
JDS+ 1
Others 0
Coastal Karnataka (21 seats)
BJP 4
Cong 4
JDS+ 1
Others 0
South Karnataka (55 seats)
BJP 2
Cong 6
JDS+ 4
Others 0
Greater Bengaluru (30 seats)
BJP 6
Cong 7
JDS+ 0
Others 0
08:16 am: Early trends seems to be falling in line with opinion and exit polls that have suggested a neck and neck fight between BJP and Congress.
08:14 am: (69/222) Congress ahead on 32 seats, BJP on 27 and JDS+ on 10 seats
08:12 am: Early trends show Siddaramaiah trailing on Badami seat. Kumaraswamy leading on Ramanagar seat.
08:08 am: (48/222) Congress ahead on 24 seats, BJP on 18 seats and JDS+ on 6 seats.
08:08 am: Region-wise early trends:
Central Karnataka (35 seats)
BJP 2
Cong 2
JDS+ 4
Others 0
Hyderabad Karnataka (31 seats)
BJP 2
Cong 3
JDS+ 0
Others 0
Mumbai Karnataka (50 seats)
BJP 4
Cong 5
JDS+ 1
Others 0
Coastal Karnataka (21 seats)
BJP 2
Cong 1
JDS+ 0
Others 0
South Karnataka (55 seats)
BJP 2
Cong 4
JDS+ 0
Others 0
Greater Bengaluru (30 seats)
BJP 3
Cong 3
JDS+ 0
Others 0
08:06 am: (39/222) Congress ahead on 19 seats, BJP on 15 seats and JD(S)+ on 5 seats, as per early trends
08:02 am: (25/222) BJP ahead on 12 seats, Congress on 11 seats and JD(S)+ on 2 seats, as per early trends
08:00 am: Currently, the votes of postal ballots are being counted. Shortly, the EVM votes will be counted.
07:57 am: Second trend shows BJP ahead on 10 seats, Congress on 8 seats and JDS+ on 1 seat. (19/222)
07:54 am: Counting begins. Initial trends show BJP ahead on 7 seats, Congress on 8 while JD(S) on 1 seat.
07:52 am:
07:48 am:
07:47 am:
07:44 am: While Congress has expressed confidence in winning the state with a comfortable majority, BJP and JDS will seek to wrest power from the incumbent.
07:42 am:
07:18 am:
07:16 am:
07:09 am:
06:58 am:
06:47 am: Karnataka polls most expensive ever in terms of expenditure by parties and candidates, says survey. According to the CMS, the money spent by various political parties and their candidates in the Karnataka assembly polls is in the range of Rs 9,500-10,500 crore, which is more than twice of what was spent in the previous assembly poll in the state in 2013.
06:38 am: Exit polls have predicted that no party will touch the magic mark of 112 seats, following which the JD(S) is likely to play the kingmaker.
06:35 am: Security across the state has been beefed up to ensure free and fair counting of votes.
06:26 am: The India TV-VMR Exit Poll too came up with a similar prediction, though with a slight up-down in the number of seats. The exit poll said that Congress may win 97 seats, BJP 94 seats, while the JD(S)+ may garner 28 seats. However, a poll of exit polls has come up with a different prediction, with the BJP likely to win 101 seats, Congress 88 seats and JD(S) 30 seats.
06:23 am: Like many other opinion polls, India TV-VMR Opinion Poll predicted a hung assembly with the Congress predicted to win 96 seats, BJP 85 seats and JDS over 38 seats, which is likely to play the kingmaker.
06:19 am:
06:05 am: In case of a clear verdict in favour of the Congress, the grand old party will have broken the jinx of no political party retaining the reins of the state since 1985, when the erstwhile Janata Dal formed the government under Ramakrishna Hegde for a second consecutive term.
06:03 am: A victory in Karnataka would help boost the sagging morale of the Congress, which is on a downhill journey, losing state after state since Narendra Modi came to power at the Centre. Losing Karnataka will drastically weaken its claim for the leadership of a broader anti-BJP alliance that is being talked about.
06:00 am: A victory for the BJP, on the other hand, will reflect the enduring charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his capacity to power his party to victory across the country, clearing demographic and topographical obstacles. It would also further galvanise the BJP cadre before the Assembly elections in party-ruled Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh later this year.
