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Bengaluru, May 13: The Congress is striding forward with 50 wins and leads in 87 seats, according to latest Election Commission of India trends, as votes were counted on May 13 for an election widely seen as a litmus test for both parties ahead of the 2024 parliamentary polls.

With a much-needed victory tantalisingly close in the crucial southern State, early celebrations broke out at the Opposition Congress headquarters in Bengaluru and Delhi. As per the latest Election Commission data at 2.40 p.m., the Congress is leading in 87 seats while the BJP is ahead in 42 seats.

Meanwhile, JD(S) is leading in 11 seats, Kalyana Rajya Pragathi Paksha and Sarvodaya Karnataka Paksha in one each while two Independent candidates are ahead in the initial trends. The counting is being held at 36 centres across the State, in which 2,615 candidates are in the fray.

As per the Election Commission, voting on May 10 passed off peacefully with a historic turnout of over 73.19%, surpassing the 2018 figures (72.36%) after the final reconciliation of figures.

The current term of the government will end on May 24, 2023.

Siddaramaiah v/s DKS

In the Congress's victory celebrations in Karnataka, the only downer is the looming Siddaramaiah versus DK Shivakumar tussle for the chief minister's job.
Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar are the Congress's top leaders in Karnataka, one a former chief minister and the other, the state Congress chief. Neither has been coy about their chief ministerial ambition.

Mr Shivakumar, 61, broke down as he spoke about delivering on a promise to the Gandhis. He also said he had not slept for three years, ever since he made the promise.

"I assured Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge that I will deliver Karnataka. I can't forget Sonia Gandhi coming to meet me in jail," said the emotional Congress leader.

On who would be Chief Minister, he said: "The Congress office is our temple. We will decide our next step at the Congress office."

Mr Shivakumar has been the congress's troubleshooter for years.

One of the wealthiest politicians in Karnataka, "DKS" rose to prominence in 2019 when he tried - but failed - to salvage the Congress-Janata Dal Secular coalition government, which collapsed after the mass defection of MLAs from both parties.

Unlike Siddaramaiah, Mr Shivakumar has always been a Congressman, and has not lost a single election since his first electoral victory in 1989.

Mr Shivakumar is facing several corruption cases and even spent time in Delhi's Tihar Jail before being granted bail. There was much speculation about the timing of the investigation and raids against the Congress leader in 2017, when he was "guarding" Congress MLAs from Gujarat ahead of Rajya Sabha polls in the state.

Siddaramaiah, 75, has repeatedly said this is his last electoral contest, hoping, perhaps, that the Congress will consider this while making its choice.

For his critics in the Congress, Siddaramaiah is still the "outsider", an import from another party.

"It's a big victory for the Congress party. The people of Karnataka wanted change. This is a mandate against Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Siddaramaiah said.

His son Yathindra Siddaramaiah said his father should be chief minister "for the sake of Karnataka".

"We will do anything to keep the BJP out of power. In the interest of Karnataka, my father should become Chief Minister," Yathindra Siddaramaiah told news agency ANI.

"As a son, definitely I would like to see him as a chief minister. But as a resident of the state, his last regime saw good governance. This time also, if he becomes Chief Minister, the corruption and misrule of the BJP rule will be corrected by him. In the interest of the State also, he should become Chief Minister," said Siddaramaiah junior.

Bengaluru, May 22: Former Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday demanded the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in the state to prove with evidence that there was 40 per cent commission during the previous BJP rule.

The saffron party leader also urged the government to investigate alleged scams or irregularities that took place during the previous BJP and Congress governments, and let the truth come out. "I want to clearly say -- let them probe. They have alleged 40 per cent commission, they have to prove it with evidence now. I demand that the Congress, being in the government, to give us all the proof and show there was a 40 per cent commission," Bommai said in a response to a question on the Congress government reportedly planning to probe the alleged scams during BJP rule.

Speaking to reporters here, he said, "the Contractors' Association had alleged 40 per cent, I want to tell its President Kempanna --they (Congress) may claim that there is no 40 per cent commission with Congress in power -- so here on in all the projects contractors' will have quote 40 per cent less in the tenders. If they continue to quote the same tender amount as earlier, it means that 40 per cent has continued."

"So Kempanna has a huge responsibility, the Contractors' Association should tell all its contractors to quote 40 per cent less in their tender," he added.

During the previous BJP regime, the state Contractors' Association under its President Kepanna had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging 40 per cent commission charge against public representatives and officials for public works, which the Congress, then in the opposition, had used it as a major weapon against the then ruling party, during the campaign for the Assembly polls.

To a question as to whether the Contractors' Association would release documents at least now, Bommai said, "Let them, Kempanna has not done it so far, also they have not given it to courts, but have indulged in false campaigning (against BJP). Congress benefitted from it, so let them do it at least now."

Regarding claims that the Police Sub-inspector (PSI) recruitment scam will be probed, he said, "Let them investigate everything. We have given the Lokayukta and CID -- cases regarding the scams which took place during their (previous Congress) tenure...let what happened during both their and our (BJP) tenures be probed, and let the truth come out."

The former Chief Minister also expressed pain over the death caused due to rain on Sunday and said the Met department had given warning about rains, but it is clear the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has not taken any measures.

"I urge the Chief Minister, we have created SDRF (State Disaster Response Force) in Bengaluru, immediately press them into service at the vulnerable spots and take measures at places which are bottleneck, as there are predictions of more rains in the days to come. Also measures should be taken regarding tree falls to avoid any disaster or inconvenience to people," he added.

A 23-year old woman died on Sunday after the vehicle she was travelling in got submerged in a flooded K R Circle underpass, following thunderstorm and heavy rains in the city. 

Bengaluru, May 18: Congress leader DK Shivakumar, who has settled for the number two post in Karnataka after days of hard negotiations, today said he had "accepted the high command's decision like we have to accept a judge's verdict in court".

The Congress today announced that Siddaramaiah will be the next Chief Minister of Karnataka and Mr Shivakumar his "only deputy", ending five days of suspense. They will be sworn in on Saturday.

Mr Shivakumar, 61, fought hard and refused to back down on his demand for the chief minister's post until Sonia Gandhi stepped in. He finally agreed to "sacrifice in the interest of the party".

"Once we agree that we will leave it to the high command, we have to accept the verdict. A lot of us will be arguing in court. Ultimately, what the judge said has to be accepted. All 135 MLAs, all of us joined and said we will leave it to the high command," Mr Shivakumar said in a television interview.

"We assured the people of Karnataka. Personal interest comes later, party interest is first. That is what my commitment is," he said.

"Ultimately, for various reasons, suppose if we had not won, what would have been the position? Now we have won, we have to get the fruit out of it. It is not me alone, lakhs and lakhs of workers have done their best. We will have to look at their end also," he added.

Asked whether it was Sonia Gandhi's persuasion that finally settled the conflict, Mr Shivakumar said: "I don't want to bring Mrs Gandhi or the Gandhi family into this. I just met Rahul (Gandhi) ji. I met Mallikarjun Kharge. I met AICC (All India Congress Committee) office bearers, that's it."

On power-sharing with Siddaramaiah after their tussle for power, Mr Shivakumar said: "The work has to start. It needs a week or something to start. Let it start...let us see the success story."

He dismissed questions about how the Congress would deliver on its five guarantees promise, believed to cost about ₹ 51,000 crore.

"You leave it to us, we have a dedicated team for it. We have just worked out all the economics," he said, not elaborating.