Exit polls were broadcast by several media houses soon after voting for the high-stakes Karnataka Assembly election concluded at 6 pm on Wednesday, with most pollsters giving an edge to Congress over the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The result for the three-cornered political battle between the ruling BJP, the Congress and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda’s Janata Dal (Secular) will be declared on Saturday.
CONGRESS LIKELY TO INCREASE VOTE SHARE
However, the exit poll predictions surely came as a sigh of relief for the grand old party, which has suffered some major jolts in the recent assembly elections held across the country.
In Karnataka, it looks like Congress increased its vote share quite significantly. The party is likely to secure 42.5 per cent vote share in the elections, 4.5 per cent more than what it managed to get in 2018 Assembly polls.
BJP, on the other hand, witnessed a slight dip in vote share. The saffron is likely to secure 34.5 per cent vote share, 8 per cent less than Congress. The saffron party bagged 36 per cent vote share in 2018 Assembly elections.
Meanwhile, JD(S) is likely to secure 16.5 per cent vote share, a 2.5 per cent dip compared to last Assembly polls. Other parties may secure 6.5 per cent vote share.
Other exit polls predicted a hung assembly with JD(S) appearing to be a kingmaker. pollsters predicted that the Congress may have an edge in Karnataka, which is said to be BJP’s south citadel. Counting of votes for the 224-member Assembly will be taken up on May 13.
In the 2018 Assembly elections, BJP emerged as the single largest party by winning 104 seats out of total 224, followed by the Congress at 80 and JD(S) at 37. There was one independent member, while BSP and Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janata Party (KPJP) had one legislator each.
70% VOTER TURNOUT RECORDED IN KARNATAKA POLLS 2023
A voter turnout of nearly 70 per cent was recorded in the Karnataka Assembly election, which was conducted peacefully in the state. “Largely peaceful voting in all 224 Assembly constituencies in Karnataka, and no repoll indicated in any of the 58,545 polling stations,” the Election Commission(EC) said.
However, violence was reported from some areas including an incident where a poll officer was allegedly manhandled by some villagers, according to reports from districts.
A total of 5.31 crore electors were eligible to cast their vote in 58,545 polling stations across the state, where 2,615 candidates are in the fray. Karnataka recorded a 72.36 per cent voter turnout in the 2018 Assembly polls.