Will wait for the last vote to be counted: BS Yeddyurappa on Congress-JDS alliance talks in Karnataka

Bengaluru: BJP's chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa was on Tuesday said that he will wait for the last vote to be counted before commenting on the party's future strategy for Karnataka. 

Speaking to reporters, the Lingayat strongman said, ''I would like to comment only after the last vote polled in the assembly elections is counted. Once the picture is clear, the BJP central leadership will decide the future course of strategy for the party.''

When asked to comment on the Congress party's attempt to forge a post-poll alliance with HD Kumaraswamy's Janata Dal (Secular), BSY refused to comment.

''I would not like to comment on that,'' he told in a brief statement to reporters.

Shortly we will be knowing the final figures, then we'll decide the future plan. I don't want to talk about Congress or JD(S): BS Yeddyurappa, BJP. #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/qYsQ9rzjuw — ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

BSY, as Yeddyurappa is popularly known, was earlier elected to the Karnataka Assembly from Shikaripura constituency by 35,397 votes.

Yeddyurappa, 75, defeated Congress nominee Goni Malatesha and seven others in his home constituency. 

This was the Bharatiya Janta Party leader's eighth victory from Shikaripura since 1983.

Yeddyurappa, the BJP's Lok Sabha MP from Shivamogga district, had lost only the 1999 Assembly election.

Out of 225 Karnataka Assembly segments, 222 went to the polls on May 12. The election in Raja Rajeshwari Nagar seat was delayed to May 28 due to the recovery of a large number of voter ID cards. The election in Jayanagar segment was countermanded in the wake of the demise of BJP candidate BN Vijaya Kumar on May 4. 

At present, the majority mark is 112 as results will be declared for only 222 seats. While Karnataka Assembly has 225 seats, voting takes place for 224 constituencies as one is a nominated member from the Anglo-Indian community.

A total of 2,655 candidates are in the fray for the 224 seats in Karnataka Assembly. Among the candidates are four sitting and former chief ministers - the current CM Siddaramaiah, former BJP chief ministers BS Yeddyurappa and Jagdish Shettar, and JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy. There are 219 women, too, among the aspirants. While the BJP contested on all 224 seats, the Congress put up its candidates in 222 and the JD(S) in 201 seats.

According to the state Chief Electoral Officer Sanjeev Kumar 72.13 percent voters came out to exercise their franchise which is the highest in the Karnataka Assembly elections since the 1952 state polls.

Karnataka witnessed a high-decibel campaign with big names like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi leading the battle for the BJP and the Congress respectively. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is facing a tough battle to ensure Congress returns to power. 

Siddaramaiah had on Sunday sounded confident of Congress retaining power and added that this was his last election. He contested from two seats - Chamundeshwari and Badami. He won from Badami but lost in Chamundeshwari.