The BJP secured 36.2 percent of the votes in the Karnataka Assembly elections for which results were announced on Tuesday while the Congress had the backing of 38 percent of the electorate. The JDS was preferred by 18.3 percent of the voters and the remaining 7.5 percent votes were cast in favour of other parties, independents and NOTA. Karnataka had ended up with a hung Assembly after results were declared on Tuesday for 222 seats which went to polls on May 12. The Congress which came second by winning 78 seats and the Janata Dal Secular (JDS) and its pre-poll ally Bhaujan Samaj Party with 37 and one victories each have come together to stake claim to form the next government in Karnataka. On the other hand, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has 104 MLAs, is accusing the Congress-JDS-BSP combine of going against the verdict and trying to form a government using dirty tricks.