Karnataka bypolls: voting under way in 15 Assembly constituencies

Voters in 15 Karnataka Assembly constituencies were casting their ballots on Thursday in by-elections on which the survival of the BJP government led by B. S. Yediyurappa depends. Polling began at 7 am and was due to close at 6 pm, and results will be declared on December 9. Voters were seen lining up at booths across the state.

Why the bypolls matter

The seats fell vacant after 17 rebel MLAs of the Congress and the JD(S) were disqualified. Their revolt brought down the H. D. Kumaraswamy-led coalition in July and allowed the BJP to take power. To keep its majority in the 225-member House, which includes the Speaker with a casting vote and will still have two vacancies, Maski and R R Nagar, the BJP needs six or more of the 15 seats.

After the disqualifications the House has 208 members. Of these, the BJP has 105 (an independent included), the Congress 66 and the JD(S) 34. There is also a lone BSP MLA, a nominated member and the Speaker. The Congress previously held 12 of the 15 seats now going to the polls and the JD(S) held three. Of the 16 disqualified legislators who later joined the BJP, the party has given tickets to 13, each in the seat they had won in 2018 as Congress or JD(S) candidates.

Most seats are a straight fight between the Congress and the BJP, while the JD(S) makes it a three-way contest in the south. The BJP campaigned on stability, while the Congress and JD(S) urged voters to defeat the disqualified MLAs blamed for the fall of their government. There is speculation that the two parties could again form a coalition if the BJP falls short.

Voters and arrangements

• 37,77,970 electors are eligible: 19,25,529 men, 414 others and 18,52,027 women. Young voters number 79,714, and there are 4,711 service voters.
• Voting is taking place at 4,185 polling stations; 884 have been marked critical and 414 will be manned by central forces.
• 165 candidates are contesting: 156 men and 9 women.
• Of 42,509 personnel on election duty, 19,299 are polling staff; security includes 11,241 state police personnel and 2,511 from the Central Armed Police Forces.

The seats going to the polls, in alphabetical order, are Athani, Chikballapur, Gokak, Hirekerur, Hoskote, Hunsur, Kagwad, KR Pet, KR Puram, Mahalakshmi Layout, Ranibennur, Shivajinagar, Vijayanagar, Yellapur and Yeshwanthpur.

See also: Constituencies

Originally published on 5 December 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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