Congress in Lead as per Karnataka Exit Polls, but Who Won in ‘Two Phases’ May Determine the Winner
The Karnataka assembly polls took place in two phases. According to exit polls, The Congress has taken the lead. If this is the case, the Congress party will come to power willingly or through an alliance. However, the results of the two phases of elections will have a significant impact on the final outcome.
In the first phase of polling, 66.33 percent of voters casted their ballots. In the second phase, 61.84 percent did. In total, 72.36 percent of voters turned out for the elections.
Touching on the exit polls, which were conducted by agencies including Times Now-VMR, C-Voter and Republic TV-Jan ki Baat, among others, Congress has been projected to win between 118 and 120 seats out of 222. BJP is predicted to come in second place with an estimated 102-106 seats. The Janata Dal (Secular) (JDS), on the other hand, has been projected to win 35-39 seats.
According to News 18 reports, most surveys indicated that voters, especially in the southern Karnataka region, are in favour of the Congress. Some of the surveys indicate that the party could win around 70 percent of the seats. The Congress has played a masterstroke by giving a multitude of tickets to the Lingayat community, which is seen as the linchpin in the state’s poll calculations.
Many expected BJP to do well in the coastal region and North Karnataka —areas where it had swept polls in the past. However, according to News18, the southern Karnataka region has witnessed fervent polling, and Congress has been in its favour for a while.
According to the exit polls, the JDS could also play a crucial role in government formation, as has been the case in the past. There’s the possibility that both the Congress and BJP might scramble to form an alliance with JDS to form the government.
Wisdom of crowds?
Exit polls have caused unforeseen results in the past. One example is the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, when exit polls projected a victory for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). However, in a tremendous shock, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance formed the government.
The Election Commission will declare official results on May 15, and it’s only then that it’ll be possible to confirm whether the Congress takes the lead or if there’s a surprise upset.