Amid the ongoing Karnataka Assembly election, Congress leader Siddaramaiah exuded confidence and said that his party will get an absolute majority on May 13, when the results will be declared. "I've been constantly saying that Congress will get 130 plus seats, it may go up to 150 seats also," Siddaramaiah told reporters after casting his vote. He also requested the voters to vote for the party which works. "The future of this country is also involved in this election," Siddaramaiah asserted.
Meanwhile, the polling to elect the 16th Karnataka Legislative Assembly began at 7 AM amid tight security arrangements. The polling will continue till 6 p.m. While the ruling BJP is hoping to create history by obtaining a simple majority for the first time in the state, which is considered the gateway for South India. The saffron party won 110 seats in the 2008 Assembly elections and 104 seats in the 2018 Assembly elections. On both occasions, it succeeded to form the government "through operation lotus". A total of 5,31,33,054 electors are eligible to cast their votes in 58,545 polling stations across the state. The major political parties in contention are the BJP, Congress, and JD(S) The majority mark to form the government is 113 seats. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for high voter turnout in Karnataka, meanwhile, the Congress party urged voters to ‘vote wisely’.