The much-awaited day has arrived as the counting of votes for the Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023 has begun. The counting process started early this morning across various counting centers in the state amid tight security arrangements.
Here are the live and important updates from the counting centres across the state:
12:20: BJP Leader V. Sunil Kumar wins from Karkala seat
12:10: Independent candidate Arun Kumar Puthila blazing the lead with 119 votes in Puttur seat, Congress candidate Ashok Kumar Rai trailing.
12:10: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai wins from homebase Shiggaon.
12:05: BJP candidate Sunil Kumar Karkala slips from top spot, now trailing in Karkala seat.
12:00: Nikhil Kumaraswamy trailing in Ramanagar.
11:55: BJP candidate Yashpal Suvarna leading with 12,604 votes in Udupi constituency.
11:50: BJP candidate Sunil Kumar Karkala leading in Karkala constituency.
11:45: Congress candidate Jagadish Shettar trailing in Hubbali-Dharawad central seat.
11:40: Congress candidate UT Khader leading with 25,000 votes in Mangaluru constiteuncy.
11:30: Vedavyas Kamath wins from Mangalore City South constituency defeat's congress candidate J.R Lobo.
11:30: Congress candidate Zameer Ahmed triumphs Chamaraja Pete seat.
11:30: Chamarajanagar: BJP's V. Somanna loses to Congress candidate Puttarangashetti.
11:25: BJP's Harish Poonja leading with 8442 votes in Belthangady seat, as 10th round of counting ends.
11:25: Congress vs Arun Kumar Puthila in Puttur: Independent candidate Arun Kumar Puthila leading with 32226 votes, Ashok Kumar Rai trailing with 31,670 votes.
11:20: JDS candidate Swaroop triumphs Hassan seat.
11:15: Dakshina Kannada: Congress candidate UT Khader leading with 15,000 votes in Mangaluru seat.
11:15: Dakshina Kannada: BJP spearheads in 6 seats (Mangaluru North, Mangaluru South, Mudbidri, Belthangady, Sullia, Bantwal), Congress leading Mangaluru seat, alongside tough contest between Congress candidate Ashok Rai and Puthila.
11:10: Dakshina Kannada: BJP Candidate Bhagirathi leading in Sullia seat.
11:05: Karkala: BJP MLA Sunil Kumar leading with 1991 votes.
11:05: BJP"s Harish Poonja leading in Belthangady seat.
11:05: BJP ahead with 5,798 votes in 6th round of counting in Batwal constituency.
11:00: Puttur: Independent candidate Arun Kumar Puthila trailblazes ahead with 91 votes in 7th round of counting, tough contest between Puthila and Congress candidate Ashok Kumar Rai.
11:00: Congress candidate Tanvir Seth leading in Narasimharaja seat.
10:55: Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah leading in Varuna seat.
10:50: Congress candidate Ashok Rai leads from Puttur seat in fifth round of counting with 1221 votes.
10:50: BJP's Bharath Shetty leading in Mangaluru North seat with 10310 votes in fifth round of counting.
10:50: Mangaluru: UT Khader leading with 11,044 votes in fourth round of counting.
10:45: Dakshina Kannada: Congress candidate Ramanath Rai now trailing in tough contest by BJP's Rajesh Naik who is ahead with 5,198 votes.
10:35: Mangalore City South: BJP's Vedavyas Kamath darts ahead with 20,000 lead, Congress candidate JR Lobo trailing.
10:35: Congress candidate Makal Vaidya leading in Bhatkal in seventh round of counting
10:25: Congress crosses magic number mark leading in early trends
10:25: Dakshina Kannada: Congress candidate UT Khader leading from his stronghold Mangaluru constituency.
10:25: Puttur: Fourth round of counting ends, Congress candidate Ashok Kumar Rai leading.
10:15: Mangalore City North: BJP's Bharath Shetty races ahead leading in third round of counting, Inayat Ali trailing now.
10:05: BJP's Yashpal Suvarna leading in Udupi seat.
10:05: Dakshina Kannada: BJP gets slight lead in Sullia constituency.
10:00: BJP's CT Ravi now leading in the third round of counting from Chikkamagaluru seat.
9:55: Coastal Karnataka: BJP leading ahead in 13 seats, congress in 6.
9:50: Belthangady: BJP's Harish Poonja leading in third round of counting.
9:50: Dakshina Kannada: Congress candidate Inayat Ali leading with 1,098 votes in Mangaluru North seat.
9:45: Big jolt for BJP's CT Ravi as he trails in the second round of counting from Chikkamagaluru seat.
9:40: Dakshina Kannada: Congress candidate Ashok Rai leading from Puttur.
9:40: BJP Trailing in CM Basavaraj Bommai's home district Haveri, except for Shiggaon seat were Bommai himself is leading.
9:35: Congress candidate Zameer Ahmed leading ahead with 20,000 votes in Chamrajpete constituency.
9:35: Mankal Vaidya leading by 300 votes in Bhatkal.
9:35: BJP state Vice President and BS Yeddyurappa's son B.Y Vijayendra trailing from Shikaripura seat
9:35: Congresss's Rizwan Arshad leading from Shivajinagar seat.
9:25: BJP deserter and Congress candidate Laxman Savadi leading from Athani seat
9:25: Congress candidate Tanvir Seth ahead from Narasimharaja constituency.
9:20: BJP's Sasikala Jolla trailing from Nippani seat.
9:20: Chamarajanagar: Somanna trailing by 4,000 votes.
9:20: Jagadish Shettar trailing in second round of counting from Hubbali-Dharwad central seat.
9:20: JD(S) candidate and Popular actor Nikhil Kumaraswamy leading ahead with 802 votes from Ramanagara constituency.
9:15: Congress candidate Anil ahead in HD Kote seat
9:15: BJP Candidate Basavaraj Bommai leading from Shiggaavi constituency.
9:15: Dakshina Kannada: BJP candidate Harish Poonja leading with a difference of 964 votes from Belthangady seat.
9:10: Congress breaches 100-seat mark for the first time, leads on 106 seats after first round of voting
9:05: Channapatna: 1st round of counting ends; Former CM HD Kumarswamy trailing in Channapatna.
9:00: Congress accelerates ahead leading with 82 seats, BJP trailing with 66 seats, JD(S) at 21
9:00: Chikkaballapur: BJP's Dr K Sudhakar trailing
9:00: Congress Candidate Vinay Kulkarni leading from Dharwad seat.
8:45: Uttara Kannada: RV Deshpande trialing from Haliyala seat
8:45: Former BJP leader Jagadish Shettar trailing from Hubbali-Dharawad seat.
8:40: BJP candidate M.P. Renukacharya trailing behind from Honnali seat.
8:40: BJP Rebel and Independent candidate, Pro-Hindutva mascot Arun Kumar Puthila leading from Puttur seat.
8:30: Former BJP leader Jagadish Shettar who joined Congress ahead of the Karnataka elections, leading on Hubballi seat.
8:30: BJP's candidate from Udupi Yashpal Suvarna leading.
8:30: JD(S)'s Nikhil Kumaraswamy is trailing in Ramanagaram.
8:25: Congress candidate Mithun Rai leading in Moodabidri.
8:20: BJP takes early lead in the initial trends of the counting of votes. BJP is leading on 40 seats while the Congress is ahead on 33 seats.
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Penco (Chile) (AP): Wildfires raging across central and southern Chile on Sunday left at least 15 people dead, scorched thousands of acres of forest and destroyed scores of homes, authorities said, as the South American country swelters under a heat wave.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a state of catastrophe in the country's central Biobio region and the neighbouring Nuble region, around 500 kilometres south of Santiago, the capital.
The emergency designation allows greater coordination with the military to rein in two dozen wildfires that have so far blazed through 8,500 hectares and prompted 50,000 people to evacuate, according to Chilean Security Minister Luis Cordero.
“All resources are available,” Boric wrote on X.
But local officials reported that for hours on Sunday, destruction was everywhere and help from the federal government was nowhere.
“Dear President Boric, from the bottom of my heart, I have been here for four hours, a community is burning and there is no (government) presence,” said Rodrigo Vera, the mayor of the small coastal town of Penco in the Biobio region. “How can a minister do nothing but call me to tell me that the military is going to arrive at some point?”
Firefighters were struggling to extinguish the flames, but strong winds and scorching weather hampered their efforts Sunday with temperatures topping 38 C (100 F).
Residents said that the fires took them by surprise after midnight, trapping them in their homes.
“Many people didn't evacuate. They stayed in their houses because they thought the fire would stop at the edge of the forest,” said John Guzman, 55, surveying the scene in Penco, where smoke blanketed the sky in an orange haze. “It was completely out of control. No one expected it."
Although the total number of homes burned nationwide remained unclear, one municipality of Concepcion in Biobio reported 253 homes destroyed.
“We fled running, with the kids, in the dark,” said Juan Lagos, 52, also in Penco. The fire engulfed most of the city, burning cars, a school and a church.
Charred bodies were found across fields, homes, along roads and in cars.
“From what we can see, there are people who died ... and we knew them well," said Víctor Burboa, 54. "Everyone here knew them.”
