The state of Karnataka is going into assembly election in May 2018. The voting will be done on 12th of May in all of the 224 constituencies of Karnataka and the results will be out on 15th May.
These upcoming Karnataka elections are also very important these are one of the major elections before Lok sabha elections in 2019. Congress and BJP are leaving no stone unturned to win more seats in the state and be in stronger position before 2019 elections.
In Karnataka, all the parties have filed their nominations for the coming elections.
According to the recent polls conducted by various agencies, Congress seems to lead in the race of more votes. At the same time, BJP seems to be leading when it comes to who wins more seats?
According to a poll conducted by The times of india, Congress seems to be leading in the state. ABP news carried out the similar poll and claims that BJP will form the government in the state of Karnataka.
These surveys seem to tell that both Congress and BJP will be facing cut-throat competitions when it comes to who wins more seat?
In this case, it would matter the most that who would JDS (third biggest party in the state) will support?
Who will JDS support in Karnataka?
The state party president of JD(S) H D Kumaraswamy had recently hinted that his party could support BJP in coming elections.
Kumaraswamy had said that his party will join hands with BJP to out throw current Siddaramaiah government from the state.
JD(S) party chief’s comment came after two congress party members voted for the second time after they committed technical errors in their ballot paper during Rajya Sabha elections in Bengaluru on Friday.
Actually, Congress and JD(S) seems to have various tensed moments in recent times.
It was earlier said that when Congress president Rahul Gandhi visited Karnataka, he called out JDS as the ‘B’ team of BJP. After this, Siddaramaiah also snubbed party’s request to support the JDS during upcoming elections.
On this, JDS president Kumaraswamy reminded Congress that his party can’t be ignored. He said, “I warn chief minister Siddaramaiah and the Congress that if I stand beside the BJP and cough, the Congress party will be vanquished in Karnataka politics.”
At the same time, Kumaraswamy had also approached Congress earlier to seek their support in the nomination of their Rajya Sabha candidate BM Farook.
It measn that JD(S) wants to keep its options open as whom to support in the coming elections.
JDS could be the kingmaker
There is no doubt in the fact that JDS will prove to be the kingmaker in the coming elections.
According to the polls, around 37% of the voters favor current CM Siddaramaiah and 35% favor BJP candidate Yeddyurappa.
The thing to notice here is that around 20% voters will vote in favor of JDS. This means that depending upon whom JDS supports, the party will form a government in the state.
What does JDS have to say?
JDS president Kumaraswamy recently said, “The Congress party can have a working relationship with the JD(S) and a post-poll alliance after the 2018 elections in case of a hung assembly. However, if they field a third candidate they may very well win a Rajya Sabha seat, but lose the state.”
Responding to the Rahul Gandhi’s comment on JDS being the ‘B’ team of BJP, Kumaraswamy said that, “Let the Congress remember, the current Karnataka government is the ‘B’ team of JD(S). All those who did not survive here (at the JDS) jumped to the Congress.”
We should tell you that JDS has been very unpredictable as who to support in Karnataka, BJP or Congress?
The party has supported Congress in 2004 and ran for a coalition government. Party ditched congress in middle of Congress’s tenure and the state had to go to the elections again.
Update: Result Day (15th May, 2018)
According to the news that we are getting right now, JDS has clearly said that the party will support either BJP or Congress if they get an assurance about HD Kumaraswamy being the chief minister. This could trigger a lot of permutations and combinations in Karnataka if BJP or Congress do not fail to touch the majority mark.
As of 10 AM, as the early trends coming out, both the parties, Congress and BJP are claiming to win a majority in the state. Our sources also confirm that Congress leaders are set to meet JDS at 12 PM noon time to talk of any possible collaborations. The meeting between Congress and JDS will include Ashok Gehlot and HD Kumaraswamy.