Karnataka Votes, Stakes High For BJP, Congress: 10 Facts

Former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa was among the first to cast his vote in Shivamogga. BS Yediyurappa said he expects 75%-80% voters to support the BJP. "We will get absolute majority and will form the government. We will win 130-135 seats," the veteran party leader said.

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said he is "very happy" the way his party conducted its campaign and the way people have responded to it. "I appeal to people to come and vote for the development of Karnataka," Mr Bommai said.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi urged people to vote in large numbers to build a progressive and a "40-per cent-commission-free" state. In a tweet in Hindi, Mr Gandhi said, "Karnataka's vote... for 5 guarantees, for women's rights, for youth employment, for the upliftment of the poor. Come, vote in large numbers."

While the contest is essentially seen as triangular, Arvind Kejriwal's Aaam Aadmi Party is in the race for the southern state. So is Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party. Both BJP and the Congress have run a high-profile campaign. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi held 19 public meetings and six roadshows, Congress's Rahul Gandhi camped in the state for 12 days.

As Karnataka voted to elect a new government, PM Modi, from a rally in Rajasthan, accused the Congress in the southern state of endangering the lives of the people from the Hakki Pikki tribe who were stranded in conflict-hit Sudan.

In the run-up to the election, the ruling BJP - which is facing multiple corruption allegations -- covered all its bases, including tweaking the state's reservations to give a bigger chunk of quota to Lingayats, Vokkaligas, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes.

The extras came from the four per cent OBC quota to Muslims, which was scrapped in March. The Supreme Court has, however, paused it till further orders, directing that the Muslim reservation will continue for now. The matter will be heard next in July.

Several senior Lingayat leaders of the BJP - including former Chief Minister Jagdish Shettar - have joined the Congress camp after being denied a party ticket. This has opened up the BJP to a possibility of a division in the Lingayat vote, which can decide the outcome in 90 to 100 seats.

The Congress, which found itself out of power when the alliance government it ran with Janata Dal Secular chief HD Kumaraswamy collapsed, has said it will not need a second tie-up. Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the party's state unit chief DK Shivakumar - known to be at loggerheads - have kept up a united front. But their rivalry over distribution of tickets gave a glimpse of the rift within.

For the Janata Dal Secular of HD Kumaraswamy, this is a crucial election, with party patriarch HD Deve Gowda, who is in his 90s, planning to hang up his electoral boots. The party, which was hoping to expand its base beyond Hassan and Mandya, is now trying to hold onto its traditional base in the Old Mysuru region.