Assembly election results 2023: Congress wins Karnataka, Bommai resigns

The Congress has registered an emphatic victory in Karnataka Assembly Election 2023 winning 135 seats way above the 113 figure needed for a majority in the 224-member Assembly to form the government.

Hyderabad:The Congress on Saturday made a stunning comeback in Karnataka ousting the BJP from its lone southern citadel with a comfortable majority in a morale booster win that will be key for reviving its electoral fortunes ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The Congress' decisive victory in the Assembly elections after an aggressive pro-poor campaign spearheaded by mass leader and former chief minister Siddaramaiah and KPCC president D K Shivakumar also saw Karnataka continuing with a 38-year-old anti-incumbency trend. The state has never voted an incumbent party to power since 1985.

Here are all the major updates that took place on May 13, the counting day which saw the grand-old party registering an emphatic victory in the southern state.

• 10:02 pm
  Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai submits resignation to Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot.
• 10:00 pm
  Senior Congress leader and former Karnataka minister G Parameshwara recorded his sixth victory in the Assembly polls in the southern state.
• 8:30 pm
  DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin congratulated the Indian National Congress. Stalin said, "Let us all work together to win 2024 to restore democracy and constitutional values in India."
• 7:23 pm
  Congress leaders and workers across India celebrated the victory of the party in the Karnataka Assembly polls. Many workers chanted 'Jai Bajrang Bali' and 'Jai Shri Ram' and danced to drumbeats to celebrate the win.
• 6:47 pm
  Basking in the glory of its emphatic victory, Congress on Saturday evening highlighted the 'impact of Bharat Jodo Yatra' on the results. The yatra passed through 7 districts of Karnataka. There are 20 seats in these 7 districts. Out of this, Congress won 15. Jai Janata, Jai Congress," the Congress tweeted while sharing a video of some key moments of the Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also pointed out the impact of the Yatra. "While this is the direct impact of the #BharatJodoYatra in Karnataka, the intangible impact was uniting the party, reviving the cadre and shaping the narrative for the Karnataka elections. It was during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, from the many conversations Rahul Gandhi had with the people of Karnataka, that the Guarantees and the promises in our manifesto were discussed and finalised," he tweeted.
• 6:37 pm
  As Congress is set to come to power in Karnataka, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief and former Maharashtra chief minister Sharad Pawar said that the results "present a picture" of next year's Lok Sabha elections.
• 5.59 pm
  AICC President and Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Mallikarjuna Kharge, AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal, AICC General Secretary and State Congress In-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala, KPCC President DK Shivakumar, Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah will be addressing the media at KPCC office, Queens Road, Bengaluru shortly from now.
• 5.28 pm
  Prime Minister Narendra Modi has congratulated Congress on its emphatic win in Karnataka. "Congratulations to the Congress Party for their victory in the Karnataka Assembly polls. My best wishes to them in fulfilling people’s aspirations. I thank all those who have supported us in the Karnataka elections. I appreciate the hardwork of BJP Karyakartas. We shall serve Karnataka with even more vigour in the times to come," he wrote on Twitter.
• 5.08 pm
  Karnataka Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai, who had conceded defeat soon after noon on Saturday, said he took responsibility for the debacle. "I take responsibility for this debacle. There are multiple reasons for this. We will find out all the reasons and strengthen the party once again for Parliament elections...," he said
• 3.25 pm
  Following Congress' emphatic win in Karnataka, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel said South of India was 'free of BJP'. "First we won Himachal Pradesh and then we won Karnataka...They used to speak of 'Congress-mukt Bharat' but now South India is 'BJP-mukt'," he said.
• 3.15 pm
  Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hailed the party's performance in the Karnataka assembly polls, saying "nafrat ka bazaar" has closed down and "mohabbat ki dukaanein" have opened in the state.
• 2.00 pm
  His party set to win Karnataka, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, as per reports, will arrive in Bengaluru by today evening to initiate discussions on forming the government. According to the Election Commission data, the party is leading in 134 seats while the magic number to form the government is 113. The BJP is ahead in 64 seats and JDS leads in 22 seats.
• 1:52 pm
  Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge's son Priyank Kharge has won from the Chittapur constituency with a margin of over 13,000 votes. While Priyank secured 81232 votes, BJP's Manikanta Rathod managed 67683 votes.
• 12.58 pm
  Karnataka Congress chief and Chief Minister-probable DK Shivakumar breaks down while addressing reporters after vote counting trends project majority for the grand old party.
• 12.58 pm
  Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar says, "...We respect and accept the verdict. We will contribute to our state and our people as a constructive Opposition..."
• 12.22 pm
  We've not been able to make the mark. Once the results come we will do a detailed analysis. As a national party, we will not only analyse but also see what deficiencies and gaps were left at various levels. We take this result in our stride: Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai
• 12.02 pm
  BJP national general secretary CT Ravi trails in Chikmagalur constituency by over 2,000 votes after six rounds of counting. His rival Congress's HD Thammiah has been maintaining the lead from round one.
• 12.01 pm
  In Bengaluru, BJP candidate for Bangalore south has secured 1,08,041 in 14 rounds. He is leading by more than 42 thousand votes. Congress candidate RK Ramesh has so far garnered about 65 thousand votes.
• 11.30 am
  Outgoing Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai tracks the party performance from the BJP camp office in Shiggaon constituency as Congress surges ahead in 119 seats while BJP leads in 69 seats.
• 10.55 am
  BJP maintains lead in Bengaluru. Leads in 15 constituencies out of 28 from Bengaluru region.
• 10.45 am
  Amid Congress maintaining lead in the counting of votes in the Karnataka Assembly election, Priyanka offers prayer at Hanmuan temple in Shimla.
• 9.49 am
  As trends point to a Congress victory, the party has asked its winning candidates to reach Bengaluru, ANI reported quoting sources. Special arrangements have also been made in the remote areas of the State to take them to Bengaluru and observers have also been appointed to do this exercise, party sources said.
• 9.30 am
  "We will form the government with a heavy majority. There's no doubt about it. Negative and divisive campaign of the Prime Minister did not work": Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera tells the media amid Congress surging ahead.
• 9.12 am
  In trends, Congress crosses half-way mark and leads from 117 seats. BJP in 73 seats and JD(S) in 24.
• 9.10 am
  Congress improves its lead by over 20 per cent from the early trends. BJP continues to trail. At the time of writing this update, Congress was leading in 106 seats while BJP in 77, and JD(S) in 20.
• 8.25 am
  Early trends show, both Congress and BJP are in a close fight with the grand old party having a slight lead since the opening of the tally. At this time, Congress was leading in 41 seats while BJP in 37, and JD(S) in 11.
• 8 am
  Counting begins.
• 7.15 am
  Strong rooms where Electronic Voting Machines were stored were being opened in all the Counting Centres and the counting staff gear up to begin the counting.
• 7.10 am
  Dhol beats kickstart celebrations at Congress Headquarters in the National Capital ahead of Karnataka Assembly election results. The small group was enthused by the exit polls predicting an edge to the grand old party.
• 7.12 am
  JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy says he's a small party and that there was no demand for him. "Exit polls have give that two national parties will score in a big way. They had given 30-32 seats to JD(S). I'm a small party. There's no demand for me. I'm hoping for a good development," he said.
• 6.55 am
  Congress former president Sonia Gandhi will monitor Karnataka polls results from Priyanka Gandhi's house in Shimla.Sonia Gandhi, who is on a personal visit will be joined by her son and disqualified Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi in a couple of days.
• 6.30 am
  Counting of votes to start at 8 am for all 224 seats in the Karnataka Assembly. Simultaneously, the votes polled will be counted in 36 centres across the state.