In the run-up to the election, the ruling BJP – which is facing multiple corruption allegations — covered all its bases, including tweaking the quota, which it hopes will bring in the Vokkaliga and Scheduled Castes and Tribes votes.

The party, which already had the support of Lingayats, also shored up the support of the community, giving them a chunk of the four percent OBC (Other Backward Classes) votes for Muslims that was scrapped.

Several senior Lingayat leaders of the BJP – including former Chief Minister Jagdish Shettar – have joined the Congress camp after being denied party ticket. This has opened up the BJP to a possibility of a division in the Lingayat vote, which can decide the outcome in 90 to 100 seats.

The Congress, which found itself out of power when the alliance government it ran with Janata Dal Secular chief HD Kumaraswamy collapsed, has said it will not need a second tie-up.

Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the party’s state unit chief DK Shivakumar – known to be at loggerheads – have kept up a united front. But their rivalry over distribution of tickets gave a glimpse of the rift within.

Both parties have run a high-profile campaign. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi held 19 public meetings and six roadshows, Congress’s Rahul Gandhi camped in the state for 12 days.

The campaign grew shriller with the Congress pledge in its manifesto to ban the right-wing group Bajrang Dal. The BJP retaliated and later flagged a Congress tweet attributing a comment on “sovereignty” to the Election Commission.

For the Janata Dal Secular of HD Kumaraswamy, this is a crucial election, with party patriarch HD Deve Gowda, who is in his 90s, planning to hang up his electoral boots. The party, which was hoping to expand its base beyond Hassan and Mandya, is now trying to hold onto its traditional base in the Old Mysuru region.

A family feud cropped up in the run-up to the election over the prestigious Hassan seat, the backyard of the Gowda family. Bhavani Revanna, wife of Mr Kumaraswamy’s brother HD Revanna, had asked for a ticket from the seat. Mr Kumaraswamy had refused and nominated a close aide, HP Swaroop. The situation calmed down after Mr Deve Gowda campaigned from Hassan.

The counting of votes will take place on Saturday. The majority mark in the 224-member assembly is 113.