SHIRAHATTI: Traditionally, whichever party bags the Shirahatti seat, emerges as the winner in Karnataka. The same trend has been witnessed in the past seven assembly elections that the winner from Shirahatti wins the state. Not just assembly elections, the winning streak has also continued for five Lok Sabha elections. As per the official Election Commission trends at 10 am on Tuesday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Ramappa Sobeppa Lamani is leading by nearly 5000 votes on the seat. Congress candidate Doddamani Ramakrishna Shidlingappa is fighting at the second spot with over 15000 votes.
Karnataka election results 2018 live updates
In the 2013 assembly elections in Karnataka, Shidlingappa of the Congress had received 44,738 votes while Lamani bagged 44,423 votes, making Congress the winner by a mere margin of 315 votes.
As per the overall trends at 10 am, BJP is surging ahead with leads in over 100 seats while Congress is trailing with leads in just over 60 seats in the 222 seats in which counting is being held. The JDS is leading in 42 seats.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is ahead in the Badami assembly constituency in north Karnataka, but trailing in Chamundeshwari in his home town Mysuru. The BJP's chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa is ahead in Shikaripura, and JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy in Ramanagara.
A total of 222 of the 224 assembly constituencies in the state went to polls in Karnataka.
Polling for R R Nagar seat was deferred on account of alleged electoral malpractices while it was countermanded in Jayanagar seat following the death of the BJP candidate.
