It's a fight to the finish in Karnataka elections

STATE POWER

- R. JAYAPRAKASH

If the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections were a nail biter what with BJP at 104, Congress at 80, JDS at 37, with no party having a simple majority of 113, here are the latest round of election estimates by state intelligence: Congress at 109, BJP at 83 and JDS at 29. The nataka (drama) in Karnataka has just started.

Ever since the 2004 polls when the then Chief Minister S.M. Krishna called in early polls that threw up a fractured mandate in the state, the political potboiler here has got only more pacey, racy and juicy with all possible twists and turnsa rollercoaster ride that has catapulted many to power, thrown power off balance, with some making political fortunes.

H.D. Kumaraswamy, B.S Yediyurappa, and Siddaramaiah are the offspring of that political turmoil that has now stretched beyond a decade and a half, although some like Dharam Singh, D.V. Sadananda Gowda, Jagadish Shettar, and Basavaraj Bommai got the top job, call it a kiss of lady luck or destiny. Cut to 2023. It seems like the electorate of Karnataka is finding it difficult to make up their mind. Highly placed sources in the government revealed to The Sunday Guardian that a third-party survey commissioned by the intelligence to objectively find out the political weather has indicated a fractured mandate.