Multiple exit poll projections, which came soon after the final phase of voting for the Lok Sabha elections completed on Sunday evening, have given the Opposition BJP an edge over the ruling Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress coalition in Karnataka.
The minimum number of seats that the BJP is expected to win, according to the exit polls, is pegged at 18 — two more than the current tally, while the maximum it could end up winning is 25 seats.
In a face-off with coalition partners, the BJP contested in 27 seats and backed an Independent candidate in Mandya, while the Congress and the JD(S), in a seat-sharing arrangement, contested 22 and six seats, respectively.
News Nation gives NDA 18 seats and the UPA 10, while Republic-CVoter projection set 18 for NDA and nine for UPA and 1 Independent.
The Republic-Jan Ki Baat projected 18 to 20 seats for the BJP, seven to 10 for UPA, and one Independent.
While BJP had won 17 seats in a three-corner fight during 2014, its tally had dropped to 16 after the loss of Ballari parliamentary constituency in 2018 in bypolls. Currently, the Congress holds 10 and the JD-S has 2 seats.
The India Today-Axis My India poll gave a broad range for the BJP (21 to 25 seats) and between three and six seats for Congress, and one for others. The Times Now-VMR survey gave 21 seats to NDA (BJP) and seven to the UPA (Congress & JD-S).
The News 18-Ipsos survey gave the BJP 20 to 23 seats and the UPA is expected to win between five and eight seats. Today’s Chanakya has projected 23 seats for the BJP and five for the Congress.
“It is premature to comment upon an exit poll. However, it indicates that the vote transfer between the coalition partners has not taken place. There were no positive signals from leaders. In fact, it could look like the coalition partnership was a mistake for the Congress,” a veteran political analyst added.
