Bangalore:
A day before election results are declared in Karnataka, the Congress is in an upbeat mood. The reason: The party believes it will be able to dethrone the BJP and form the government in the state.
"We all feel very happy. We are relieved because we have reached there where we wanted to reach. If we consider our internal surveys, we are going to form the next government by ourselves. I don't think we'll need any help this time. The voters have taken a call that they want a stable government," state Congress chief Dr G Parameshwara told NDTV.
Mr Parameshwara also admitted that if his party comes to power, he would certainly put his name forward for consideration to the chief minister's post.
"If the high command decides so, certainly. When the high command consults everybody, that is the time I have to make my presence, and I will," he said.
The voting was held on Sunday. In the leafy constituencies of capital city Bangalore, the sun-baked regions of north Karnataka, and the relatively temperate southern parts of the state, voters turned out in high numbers to elect the state's next government. At the end of polling, 71 per cent of the 4.36-crore strong electorate had cast its vote.
Voting was held for 223 seats to the Karnataka Assembly on Sunday - one constituency, Periyapatna, will vote later following the death of the BJP candidate before voting day.
Through the day, politicians turned out in full strength to exercise their franchise - from Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar of the BJP and party colleagues Venkaiah Naidu and Ananth Kumar to possible kingmakers BS Yeddyurappa of the Karnataka Janata Party (KJP) and HD Kumarswamy of the JD(S).
The ruling BJP is determined to sound optimistic as well, and party General Secretary Ananth Kumar, after voting in Basavanagudi in south Bangalore, said the BJP would retain power in the state.