Bengaluru: The counting of votes for electing 224 legislators for the Karnataka assembly began at 8 am on Saturday.

The clear picture on the verdict is expected to be known post-noon.

The stakes are high for three main contenders - BJP, Congress and JDS.

While the BJP is looking to break the 38-year jinx in the state where the incumbent party was thrown out of power by the people in 1985.

The Congress is looking to ride high on 40 per cent commission sarkara, price rise and unemployment.

JDS is eyeing to become a kingmaker in case of fractured mandate as it did in the 2018 election.

The BJP again made Bajrang Bali a poll issue, attacking Congress for its manifesto proposal to ban the Bajrang Dal in the state if it is elected to power, the grand-old party clarified it by saying that there was no proposal to ban Bajrang Dal and promising more Lord Hanuman temples in the state.

Among the top candidates from these parties are Siddaramaiah, DK Shivakumar, HD Kumaraswamy, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, and Jagadish Shettar.
In the 2018 election, the BJP was the single-largest party winning 104 seats.

However, Congress, which had bagged only 80 seats, stitched an alliance with HD Kumaraswamy's JDS, which won 37 seats, and formed a coalition government in the state.

The BJP formed the government mid-way after some Congress and JDS MLAs withdrew their support from the coalition government.

The result will be declared today by the Election Commission of India.

(With UNI inputs)