Himachal assembly by-polls: Congress announces candidates for 3 seats
The by-polls in six Assembly constituencies in the state are scheduled to be held on June 1 along with the Lok Sabha elections.
In a major turn of events, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said he was going to meet Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala at 5.30 pm today.
It is being said the Congress has reached an understanding with the JD(S) and it is going to stake claim to form the government.
The Congress is currently leading in 76 seats, and it has said the party is ready to give support to the JD(S), which is leading in 38 seats.
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Addressing reporters, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad confirmed that the party has asked JD(S) to form the government. This evening, Congress and JD(S) will go to Governor to form the government in Karnataka, he said.
He claimed that JD(S) chief HD Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy were on board with the Congress.
The BJP is currently leading in 104 seats and is falling short of eight seats to reach the half-way mark.
According to media reports, BJP national president Amit Shah has directed Prakash Javdekar, Dharmendra Pradhan and JP Nadda to rush to Bengaluru to explore options of forming the next government in Karnataka.
Also Read | Karnataka polls: BJP Parliamentary Board to meet at 6 pm in Delhi today
Earlier in the day, it seemed BJP would cruise to the magic mark of 113, with the trends not only leaving the Congress stunned but also reducing the significance of JD(S), touted as the kingmaker, to nil.
At the moment, JD(S) is proving the poll pundits right by indeed emerging as the kingmaker.
Karnataka recorded an overall polling percentage of 72.13% this year, up from 71.45% recorded in 2013.
If the BJP wins Karnataka, it will get all the necessary momentum ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in some states and the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
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