Kingmaker Or Distant Third? JDS Hopes For A Role Amid Setback

Three hours into the counting of votes for Karnataka assembly election, the Janata Dal (Secular), which was being seen as a possible kingmaker in the event of a hung verdict, appears to have taken a big hit in its vote share and may well win much fewer seats than its 2018 score.

These are, however, early trends and a quick surge in the regional party's score in later rounds can catapult it back to the kingmaker position if the two main challengers -- BJP and Congress -- fall short of majority.

For the JDS, therefore, a few seats may well decide if its calls the shots or is relegated to a distant third.

The HD Devagowda-led party won 37 seats in 2018 and cornered a vote share of over 20 per cent. In contrast, the party currently leads in 29 seats and its vote share is hovering around the 13 per cent mark.

What is also interesting is that the BJP, despite a sharp dip in its seat count in these very early trends, has not seen a dip in its vote share so far. The Congress, on the other hand, has gained about 5 percentage points in its vote share. This implies that the Congress' gains have largely come from the JDS's losses.

Earlier this morning, JDS leader and Mr Devegowda's son HD Kumaraswamy said they are not in touch with any party about extending support if the results throw up a hung verdict.