The Karnataka Assembly elections have witnessed a dramatic turnaround in the last few hours, with the BJP falling just short of the halfway mark, and the Congress and JD(S) surprising everyone with their plans for an alliance and staking claim to form the government.
JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy has now sought an appointment with the Karnataka Governor, saying that his party has accepted the Congress' support to form the government.
JD(S) had always maintained that HD Kumaraswamy will be the CM. As per results, we’re doing everything to keep BJP out of power. Congress has extended its support and we have accepted it. We will jointly go to meet Governor after 5.30 pm on Tuesday.JD(S) spokesperson Danish Ali
Earlier, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad informed the media about a telephonic conversation the party had with JD(S) leaders Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy, and expressed hope that the two parties "will be together".
According to the current trends, the BJP has 104 seats, the Congress 78 and the JD(S) 37.
Follow the live updates on the Karnataka elections here.
‘Will Not Tolerate Congress Coming Through the Back Door’: BSY
Meanwhile, state BJP chief and the party's CM candidate BS Yeddyurappa, while thanking the people of Karnataka for giving the mandate to the BJP, has also accused the Congress of trying to come to power through the back door.
Despite being rejected, Congress is trying to grab power... Congress is trying to come to power through the back door, people will not tolerate this... We will decide the future course of action after consulting the leadership.BS Yeddyurappa in a press conference
Early Trends Had Made Congress Sulk
With the initial trends showing that the BJP was heading for a majority in Karnataka, many BJP leaders had earlier posted congratulatory messages, while those from the opposition speculated on the Congress' 'loss'.
TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee had speculated where the Congress had gone wrong and said that an alliance between the grand old party and the JD(S) would have worked in favour of the former.
Meanwhile, DMK working president MK Stalin had urged the government-in-waiting to honour the Supreme Court’s order on the Cauvery issue and to release water to Tamil Nadu immediately.
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah had channeled his inner Shakespeare.
Shiv Sena chief had brought up the allegations over EVM tampering.
While Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha had earlier put out a tweet encouraging party workers, he later said that things have "changed dramatically".
Celebrations Too Early for BJP?
Before the dramatic turnaround, the BJP leaders had also hailed the success of the party and heaped praise on the party president Amit Shah and PM Narendra Modi.
But the current situation shows that it was a little too early for them to do that.
BJP MP Subramanian Swamy even had a priceless reaction when he was asked about allegations of EVM tampering.
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