Next Karnataka Legislative Assembly election
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
By May 2028
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All 224 seats in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly 113 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Map of the assembly constituencies in Karnataka | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Next Karnataka legislative assembly election is expected to be held by May 2028 to elect all 224 members of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly. D. K. Shivakumar is the incumbent chief minister of Karnataka, having been sworn in on 3 June 2026 with G. Parameshwara as his deputy, following the resignation of Siddaramaiah on 28 May 2026.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Background
Following the 2023 Karnataka Assembly election, the Indian National Congress formed a government under Siddaramaiah, with D. K. Shivakumar — the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president who had led the party's campaign — serving as deputy chief minister. An internal power-sharing understanding within the party was widely believed to envisage a leadership rotation partway through the term, under which Shivakumar would eventually be elevated to chief minister, though this was never formally announced.
Speculation over the arrangement intensified from late 2025, as Shivakumar and his supporters pressed for the transition. Siddaramaiah resigned as chief minister on 28 May 2026 following direction from the Congress high command; Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot accepted the resignation the following day. On 30 May 2026, Shivakumar was unanimously elected leader of the Congress Legislature Party at a meeting at Vidhana Soudha, Bengaluru, with Siddaramaiah himself proposing his name. Shivakumar was sworn in as chief minister on 3 June 2026, with G. Parameshwara as deputy chief minister, becoming the second Vokkaliga chief minister of Karnataka from the Indian National Congress.
No date for the next election has been formally notified by the Election Commission of India as of August 2026. In late May 2026, Karnataka BJP state president B. Y. Vijayendra publicly raised the possibility of mid-term polls, without offering specifics or evidence, fuelling speculation about the stability of the Congress government; the party leadership has not confirmed any such plan.
Schedule
| Poll event | Schedule |
|---|---|
| Notification date | TBD |
| Last date for filing nomination | TBD |
| Scrutiny of nomination | TBD |
| Last date for withdrawal of nomination | TBD |
| Date of poll | TBD |
| Date of counting of votes | TBD |
Parties and alliances
_Flag.png){kind=small}
.svg.png){kind=small}
_flag.png){kind=small}
_Flag.svg.png){kind=small}
Opinion polling
Seats and vote share projections
| Polling agency | Date published | Sample size | Margin of error | Lead | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| INC | BJP | JD(S) | Others |
Results
Results by alliance
| Alliance | Popular vote | Seats | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | ±pp | Contested | Won | +/− | ||||
| Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance | |||||||||
| National Democratic Alliance | |||||||||
| Other parties | |||||||||
| Independents | |||||||||
| NOTA | |||||||||
| Total | 100% | — | 224 | — | |||||
See also
References
- ↑ "HDK predicts snap election in state before 2028". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
- ↑ "DK Shivakumar welcomes Congress sweep in Karnataka bypolls: 'Harbinger of 2028'". India Today. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
- ↑ "Will become Karnataka CM again before 2028, says HD Kumaraswamy". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
- ↑ "'Congress government in Karnataka won't last till 2028', claims HD Kumaraswamy, former Karnataka CM". The Economic Times. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
- ↑ "Women's power will drive Congress back to power in 2028: Karnataka Deputy CM Shivakumar". ANI News. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
- ↑ "With women's empowerment, Congress will win Karnataka in 2028 elections: CM Siddaramaiah". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
- ↑ "We will not woo voters by distributing liquor or cash: KRS president Ravi Krishna Reddy". The Hindu. 12 May 2022. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 14 February 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
- ↑ "Election symbol – Battery torch". The Hindu. 27 April 2023. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 8 May 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
- ↑ "BSP Convention resolves to work towards attaining power in the State". Star of Mysore. 18 March 2022. Archived from the original on 25 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
- ↑ "Upendra Rao's Political Party Gets 'Auto-Rickshaw' As Its Official Symbol". News18. 24 February 2023. Archived from the original on 29 March 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
- ↑ "CPI writes to AICC for tie-up in six Assembly seats". The Hindu. 30 January 2023. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 29 March 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
- ↑ "NCP in Karnataka to unite secular parties: Sharad Pawar". The New Indian Express. 19 April 2022. Archived from the original on 17 February 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.