Bengaluru: In Karnataka, post the closing of the polling on Wednesday, most of the exit polls presented an edge to the Congress party and suggested BJP will have a tight contest with it in the state. Three polls gave a clear majority to the grand old party, while some suggested that JD(S) might have a chance to play the kingmaker, presenting the state with a hung house.
The results will be declared on May 13.
The Indian Express reported that India Today-Axis My India exit poll predicts that Congress will secure 122 to 140 seats, and News24-Today’s Chanakya exit predicted 120 seats for the party. News Nation-CGS was the only party that projected a single majority for BJP.
Most of the polls predicted that JD(S) would have 20-odd seats. In 2018, it won 37 seats.
Karnataka never voted back the incumbent government power since the 1970s. It is the first southern state where BJP was able to form a government.
BJP, who placed the face of Narendra Modi on the vanguard to retain power in the state, Congress is aiming for a strong back in the state ahead of the 2024 general elections.
In 2018, most of the exit polls predicted that BJP would gather the most number of seats and there would be a hung government. They also predicted that JD(S) would grab 20 to 40 seats, and these predictions turned out to become reality in the end.