Hundreds arrested in Pakistan as chaos ensues post Imran Khan's arrest; And everything you need to know about the Karnataka elections

Market Watch

• Indian benchmark indices ended in the green, with the Sensex up 178 points at 61,940, and Nifty up 49 points at 18,315.
• Sectorally, Nifty PSU Bank (-1.06%) and Metal (-0.25%) shed the most, while Media (1.36%) and Realty (0.86%) gained the most.

Everything you need to know about the Karnataka assembly election

Voting has begun for the Karnataka assembly polls , with BJP hoping for a consecutive term, Congress looking to capitalise on the revolving door trend, and JD(S) potentially playing the spoiler role.

By the numbers: Over 5.31 crore eligible electors can cast their votes in 58,545 polling stations across the state, while 2,615 candidates are vying for 224 seats. A simple majority of 112 seats would be needed for any party to win alone.

• As of 5 PM, around 65.69% turnout had been recorded.
• The election will be held state-wide in a single phase today, and the results will be declared on May 13.
• Karnataka has not re-elected an incumbent government since 1985.

Exit polls: As of 6:45 PM, almost all exit polls predicted a clean sweep for the BJP in the 19 seats in Coastal Karnataka.

• The TV 9 Bharatvarsh-Polstrat predicts a hung assembly in the state with BJP likely to get 88-98 seats, the Congress 99-109 seats, and the JDS 21-26 seats.
• The Zee News Matrize Agency predicts an edge for the BJP which is likely to get 103-118 seats, the Congress with 79-94 seats, and the JDS with 25-33 seats.
• Republic TV polls also predict a hung assembly with the BJP likely to get 85-100 seats, the Congress with 94-108 seats, and the JDS with 24-32 seats.

The big picture: Possible chief ministerial contenders include the BJP incumbent Basavaraj Bommai, JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy, Congress’ Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah and state Congress President D K Shivakumar.

• The BJP, aiming for another straight term, has made strategic changes to attract Vokkaliga and Scheduled Castes and Tribes votes, along with consolidating the support of Lingayats, a key community for the party.
• However, several Lingayat leaders have joined the Congress camp after being denied party tickets, potentially causing a split in the Lingayat vote.
• The Congress, on the other hand, has been projecting a united front despite internal rifts and has pledged to ban right-wing group Bajrang Dal if elected .
• The JD(S) is focusing on retaining its traditional base in the Old Mysuru region, with party patriarch H D Deve Gowda preparing to retire from electoral politics.
• While the JD(S) may be the kingmaker if neither party reaches a majority, the Congress has ruled out such a coalition after their previous alliance collapsed.
• The key issues in the election include rising inflation and unemployment, corruption under the ruling government, reservation for various communities, and development.

Of note: Isolated incidents of violence broke out in Vijayapura district, Ballari district, and Bengaluru’s Padmanabhanagar.

Why the election matters: The outcome of these polls has implications for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the upcoming assembly elections in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

• The BJP may also be hoping to carry this momentum into the Telangana assembly elections too; Karnataka, thus far, is the only southern state that has ever voted the BJP to power.
• The southern economic powerhouse has also never voted the incumbent party back to power since 1985, making this a significant test for the BJP.

Huge protests in Pakistan after Imran Khan's arrest, supporters storm Army HQ

The arrest of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday has sparked widespread protests across the country by his supporters.

The details: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Khan’s political party, called on its supporters to mount demonstrations, describing the situation as a “now or never opportunity” — and they heeded the call .

• Protestors stormed the army headquarters in Rawalpindi and the residence of the army commanders in Lahore, and set the Radio Pakistan building in Peshawar on fire.
• Mobile data services in the country were suspended on the instructions of the interior ministry as protests grew.
• Violence broke out in several cities including Lahore, Karachi, and Peshawar, with at least one person killed in Quetta.
• Thus far, nearly 1,000 people have been arrested in Punjab, the country’s most populous province; the army has been deployed both in Punjab and neighbouring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The big picture: Khan was arrested in a case of land graft, and has now been indicted in another corruption case — the Toshakhana case.

• Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah had stated that the ex-PM’s initial arrest came after he ignored several notices to surrender to the National Accountability Bureau.
• He explained that Khan and his wife were accused of accepting land worth up to $24.7 million from a property developer who had been charged with money laundering in Britain.
• The British authorities had returned $240 million to Pakistan in connection with money laundering, but Khan returned the money to the developer instead of depositing it in the national exchequer.
• As for the other case , Khan had deposited gifts that he received during his tenure in the government’s Toshakhana department and bought them back at discounted prices, as per relevant laws.
• However, he then resold them at hefty prices and failed to disclose the transactions — which is illegal.

Between the lines: Khan had been campaigning ahead of October’s general election.

• If convicted, he would reportedly be disqualified from running. However, it remains unclear how things will play out.

ICYMI

• Rideshare giant Uber has launched flight bookings in its UK app as the latest move in its ambitious plan to become a multifaceted travel booking platform.
• Elon Musk has told his followers not to trust WhatsApp after an engineer at Twitter flagged a microphone bug in the Meta-owned instant messaging app.
• While the benchmark Nifty is currently 3% behind its all-time high, the IT sector is down over 12% from its one-year high .
• Former US President Donald Trump was found liable by a jury on Tuesday for sexually abusing and defaming American former magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll.
• After leaving Fox News last month, Tucker Carlson has announced plans to revive his show on Twitter .
• The Economist has published its crony-capitalism index , which ranks countries on how much wealth their billionaires have amassed through preferential government deals and favourable regulation.