Counting of votes polled in the high stakes Karnataka Assembly election, which witnessed a fierce fight between BJP and the Congress, began on Saturday amid tight security arrangements.
The initial trends give the Congress has a dominant lead in the race against the BJP. The trends showed the Congress leading on more than 115 seats while the BJP had leads on 80. A party needs 113 seats to form government in Karnataka.
The counting began at 8 am in 36 centres across the state amid elaborate security arrangements in place, especially in and around the counting centres to avoid any untoward incidents
Most of the exit polls predicted a tight contest between the Congress and BJP, leaders of the two parties seem “jittery” over the outcome.