There can be differences in various exit polls, but the reality is that somehow the BJP will manage to come to power in Karnataka.
Senior journalist Pramesh Jain said, “The ground reality is very much different than the exit poll predictions.” “It can be hung in the assembly, and we have witnessed in the past how the BJP manages to win power.”
Seven of 10 exit polls have predicted a win for the hung assembly. Two have predicted an absolute triumph for the Congress and one for the BJP. Those expecting a hung house also indicated that HD Kumaraswamy’s Janata Dal Secular is likely to play the kingmaker. The majority mark in the 224-seat assembly stands at 113 seats.
Five exit polls are counting on a Congress win or a pole position as the single largest party.
• India Today-Axis My India is expecting the Congress to win 122 to 140 seats and the BJP to get 62-80 seats.
• Times Now-ETG is predicting the Congress will touch the majority mark — barely. It predicts the party will win 113 seats and the BJP will get 85. Twenty-three seats will go to the Janata Dal Secular, it has predicted.
• News 24-Today’s Chanakya has predicted 120 seats (Plus/Minus 11 seats) for the Congress and 92 seats (Plus/Minus 11 seats) for the BJP. The JD (S), it said, will get 12 (Plus/Minus 7) seats.
• The Republic TV-P MARQ has predicted that the BJP will win 85-100 of the 224 assembly seats; the Congress will win 94-108 and the JD(S) 24-32 seats.
• The TV 9-Bharatvansh-Polstrat predicted 88-98 seats for the BJP, 99-109 seats for the Congress, and 21-26 seats for the JD(S).
A veteran Congress leader told Afternoon Voice, “The BJP, as usual, is trying to steal the people’s mandate by using their favorite media and false propaganda. The people of Karnataka have voted against the BJP. The Contractors Association has sent a letter to all their respective members to vote cautiously as they don’t want the 40% commission taken by the BJP government back because some contractors have committed suicide and many have faced business losses because of the 40% commission taken by the BJP.”
T. Radhika, a housewife from Chikkaballapur district, told Afternoon Voice that the common man and housewives are angry with the BJP for the rise in essential commodities like petrol, diesel, and cooking gas. Even the poor have exposed the gifts given to them by BJP candidates before the elections. The common man has exposed many BJP candidates with EVMS machines in their cars. But still, who cares about people’s mandates? “The one who has money wins the game.”
