K'taka Polls: BJP takes decisive lead, Cong trails second

In the counting of votes for Karnataka Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has taken a decisive lead on 106 out of the total 224 seats, while Congress follows second with a lead on 76 seats.

As per the official data by the Election Commission, the BJP has won 17 seats and is leading on 89 seats.

Meanwhile the Janata Dal (Secular) and its allies have registered a lead on 38 seats, while others are leading on two seats.

Celebrations have already begun among BJP workers in Bengaluru and Delhi.

Counting of votes began at 8 a.m. for 222 out of 224 assembly constituencies in 58,546 polling stations in the state. The elections in two constituencies, Jayanagar and Rajarajeshwari Nagar, both in Bengaluru have been postponed earlier.

A total of 2,654 candidates, including 216 women candidates were in the fray for the Assembly Elections this year.

The BJP fielded 223 candidates, while the Congress and the JDS fielded 222 and 201 candidates respectively.

Out of the 224 seats, 36 of them are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs), while 15 of them are for Scheduled Tribes (STs).

It may be noted that a party or an alliance needs 112 seats to form the government.