As polling concluded for the Karnataka Assembly elections, most of the exit polls have given edge to the Congress, with three of them giving clear majority for the grand old party in a tight contest with the ruling BJP. The results of the election will be declared on May 13.
According to India Today-Axis My India exit poll, Congress is expected to secure between 122 to 140 seats, while News24-Today’s Chanakya exit poll has projected that the grand old party will win 120 seats. Only one pollster–News Nation-CGS– has projected that the ruling BJP would win a majority in the 224-member House. Most of the polls predicted that the JD(S) may get 20-odd seats. The party had won 37 seats in the 2018 elections. Karnataka is the first southern state where the BJP has been able to form a government and has never voted an incumbent government back to power after a full term of five years since the 1970s.
While the BJP, buoyed by a strong campaign led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, looks to return to power, the Congress aims for a strong comeback ahead of the 2024 Assembly polls. The elections witnessed a high-stake battle between the incumbent BJP, Congress and JD(S). A voter turnout of 72.67 per cent was recorded, according to the Election Commission.
India Today-Axis My India exit poll BJP: 62-80| Cong: 122-140 |JDS: 20-25
Times Now-ETG: BJP: 85 | Congress: 113 | JD(S): 23
News Nation CGS: BJP: 114 | Congress:86 | JD(S): 21 | Others: 3
ABP-CVoter: BJP: 83-95 | Congress: 100-112 | JD(S): 21-29 | Others: 2-6
Jan Ki Baat: BJP: 94-117 | Congress: 91-106 | JD(S): 14-24 | Others: 0-2
Zee News Matrize: BJP: 79-94 | Congress: 103-118 | JD(S): 25-33 | Others: 2-5
TV9 Bharatvarsh-Polstrat: BJP: 88-98 | Congress: 99-109 | JD(S): 21-26| Others: 0-4
P-Marq-Republic: BJP: 85-100| Congress: 94-108 | JD(S): 24-32| Others: 2-6
