PTI

Bangalore, May 26: The six victorious independents were at the centre of hectic lobbying by the triumphant BJP on Monday to get their support to form the next government in Karnataka, heralding its maiden entry as a ruling party in the South.

The BJP, which got 110 seats, still needs the support of three legislators to reach the magic figure of 113 in a house of 224 and is leaving nothing to chance. It, however, voiced optimism of getting the support of some of the independents.

“We have got the support of some independents. We will reveal their identity at the appropriate time,” said senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu.

The number of independents who have won this time are the lowest in the history of assembly elections in the state. Of the six independents, four are Congress rebels while one is a JD-S rebel and the other a BJP rebel.

According to BJP sources, Chief ministerial nominee B S Yeddyurappa will meet Governor Rameshwar Thakur to stake his claim to form the government only after enlisting the support of three independents that will be also required to survive a floor test.

As the defeated parties like Congress and JDS pored over the results analysing where they may have gone wrong, the poll outcome itself threw some interesting patterns.

Voters in Bangalore city came out in less numbers (44 per cent) but that was enough for BJP to go ballistic as they won 17 of the 28 seats up for grabs.

Infrastructure woes in the it city is a key issue amid hopes that the saffron party would address the festering problem.

Upsetting calculations of its rivals, BJP not only retained its base in central and North Karnataka, but also made gains, notching up 79 seats in these two regions.

But the party failed to do well in old Mysore where it got only 14 seats.