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.

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.

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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