Karnataka election results 2018: Counting begins; top 10 developments

The high-stakes battle for Karnataka in 222 Assembly constituencies ended on Saturday and India will soon know the Karnataka Assembly election 2018 verdict. The counting of votes began at 8 am on Tuesday. According to the procedure, postal ballots are being counted first. Initial trends are expected to be in by 9 am. "All arrangements have been made for counting of votes in 222 seats from 8 am onwards at 38 centres in 30 districts, including five in Bengaluru where polling was held in 26 of the 28 segments," Chief Electoral Officer Sanjiv Kumar said.

A record 72.36 per cent of the 50.7 million (5.07 crore) electorate cast their votes, with 27,908 electors in defence services exercising their franchise through postal ballots.

The Election Commission has deployed 16,662 personnel for counting of votes amid tight security. "Postal ballots will be counted first before the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are opened," Kumar said.

The Karnataka election has been billed as the biggest political battle of 2018. The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) bid to reclaim Karnataka has faced its toughest challenge from one man -- Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who is looking to beat incumbency.