Karnataka Election: This Is How Many Seats State Congress Chief Thinks Party Will Get With Results Only A Day Away

Karnataka Congress chief D K Shivakumar expressed confidence in his party winning the state election on its own despite speculations of a possible alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S).

Shivakumar, a potential chief ministerial candidate, reasserted his party's forecast of winning about 150 out of 224 assembly seats, well over the requisite majority of 113, in an interview with NDTV on Friday (12 May), a day before the election results are announced.

"I will not change my expectations. I will not change my numbers. The Congress party will come to power... We will have good numbers," he said.

He dismissed being in talks with the JD(S), a party that's likely to come into play in case of a hung assembly, and said the Congress would form the government independently.

"We will form the government on our own. Let them (BJP and JD(S)) talk. I don't want to comment on their talk," the Karnataka Congress chief said.

Shivakumar avoided answering the question of who will get to be chief minister between him and Siddaramaiah, saying that the decision will be made by former Congress presidents Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi.

The BJP, meanwhile, aims to stop the Congress from taking over their sole bastion in South India. They believe they will win a majority and have rejected the possibility of an alliance with the JD(S).

BJP leader B S Yediyurappa is optimistic of securing over 115 seats, while Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has expressed confidence in achieving a "comfortable majority."

The JD(S), headed by H D Deve Gowda and his son H D Kumaraswamy, have said they will wait for final results before deciding on their next steps.