Karnataka Assembly polls: Voting begins; high stakes for BJP, Congress

Bengaluru: The polling for the Karnataka Assembly elections began amid tight security on Wednesday. The voting started at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm. 

All three major political parties in the state -- BJP, Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular (JDS)-- have put in efforts to woo voters, making promises and levelling accusations at each other to secure a majority in the state's 224-seat Assembly.

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The Lingayat and Vokkaliga voters will play a major factor in the elections. Lingayats comprise 17 per cent of the population and Vokkaligas 11 per cent.

These assembly elections, are a critical test for the ruling BJP that's hoping to beat precedent and return to power as well as for the Congress looking for electoral revival.

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Several key leaders including Union Finance Minister Niramala Sitharaman, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai, State Minister K Sudhakar, and Congress state President DK Shivakumar were among early voters. (with ANI inputs)

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