As Karnataka Votes, Confident Yeddyurappa Announces "Date" For Swearing-In

Bengaluru, Karnataka: As Karnataka began voting today in an election that many predict will be a close fight, BS Yeddyurappa, the presumptive chief minister of the BJP, expressed confidence that he would form the new government on May 17 after an emphatic victory. Mr Yeddyurappa is the BJP candidate from Shikaripura. As he spoke to reporters after casting his vote early, he laid out a "post-win" sked.

"I will fly to Delhi on the 15th once the results for Karnataka elections are announced and meet Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi. I will invite him and others for the swearing in ceremony which is going to happen most likely on the 17th," he declared.

He also projected that his party would win between 145 and 150 seats in the 224-member assembly. Two of the seats are not voting today.'
 "I have toured the entire state three times and am 100% confident that we will win by a big margin. You all will see for yourselves this evening what the exit polls say," said the former chief minister, adding that the people were fed up of the Congress government of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Mr Yeddyurappa, 75, was chief minister when the BJP took power in Karnataka in 2008, forming its first government in the south.

He was forced to step down as chief minister in 2011 in a blaze of corruption allegations. Months after he quit, he was jailed after being charged by the state's anti-corruption official, Santosh Hegde, in a land scam. He spent 22 days in prison.

After contesting separately in 2013 - a divided BJP lost power to the Congress - he returned to the BJP in early 2014, just before the national election.

With the ruling Congress repeatedly raising the corruption allegations against Yeddyurappa during the campaign, there has been speculation that the BJP may be inclined to ditch the 75-year-old politician - who also qualifies for retirement under the PM's age rule. PM Modi, however, made a reassuring statement at a public rally backing Mr Yeddyurappa as the party's top man and slamming the Congress for attacking him.