Interactive | Vote share by party in 2018 Karnataka polls

The Karnataka Assembly elections are just around the corner and the state, understandably, is witnessing high-pitched poll campaigns, with the both the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress trying to win big.

However, if last time's elections are anything to go by, things may not be as straightforward as securing the most votes.

Indeed, opinion polls thus far have been all over the place, with some predicting wins for the BJP, some for the Congress, and some predicting a hung Assembly.

Given the uncertainty in the run-up to the polls, we take a look at the vote shares of parties in the 2018 Assembly elections.

At the time of the conclusion of the 2018 Assembly elections, the Congress managed to secure 39 per cent of votes in the state, followed closely by the BJP, which secured 36.2 per cent. The third most dominant party in the state, Janata Dal (Secular), was a distant third, with a 18.3 per cent of votes.

While the Congress managed to win in terms of popular votes, the BJP won 104 seats, as opposed to the Congress's 80, thereby emerging as the single-largest party in the state.

Despite the Congress-JD(S) alliance having a majority, the B S Yediyurappa-led BJP formed the government for mere two days before BSY resigned ahead of a trust vote.

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Subsequently, the Congress-JD(S) alliance formed the government with H D Kumaraswamy as Chief Minister, but this government too was doomed to fail: around 14 months later, several legislators from the ruling coalition resigned, thereby weakening the coalition and precipitating a trust vote.

The Kumaraswamy-led coalition lost that vote, resulting in the BJP returning to power in the state.

The subsequent bypolls sparked by defections saw the BJP win big, with the saffron party securing 50.3 per cent of votes against the 31.5 per cent and 11.9 per cent secured by the Congress and JD(S) respectively.

The BJP also won 12 of the 15 seats for which bypolls were held in 2019, thereby further weakening the Opposition in the state.

While it is unclear whether this year's polls will see similar drama, it certainly promises to be a close one.

Karnataka goes to polls on May 10, and counting is scheduled for May 13.