An opinion poll conducted by ABP-CVoter has predicted that the Congress party will form the next government in Karnataka. The state is set to go to polls on May 10 and the opinion poll predicts that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could lose big in the only southern state it is currently in power. The Janata Dal (Secular) is also predicted to perform well below the mark, the poll stated.
According to the opinion poll, the Congress is predicted to win 107 to 119 seats, with the BJP finishing a distant second with 74 to 86 seats. The JD(S) is predicted to get 23 to 35 seats, as per the survey, while others are expected to win 0 to 5 seats. Elections will be held for the 224-member Karnataka Assembly and the halfway mark is 112 seats.
The poll suggested that the Congress will dominate in the Greater Bangalore region (32 seats), central Karnataka (35 seats), the Mumbai-Karnataka region (50 seats) and the Hyderabad Karnataka region (31 seats) while competing neck and neck with the JD(S) in the Old Mysore region (55 seats). The BJP is expected to perform well only in the coastal Karnataka region (21 seats).
The ruling BJP has never won a simple majority in Karnataka and has formed the government through defections from other parties so far. The party has been in power in the state since 2019 and has been battling charges of corruption, earning the tag of “40% commission government”. It is also facing an internal rebellion with former Chief Minister Jagdish Shettar among the most high profile BJP leaders defecting to the Congress before the elections.
The ABP News-CVoter poll received responses from 17,772 people in Karnataka and the data suggested that the BJP is 5% behind the Congress in terms of vote share.
While the Congress is predicted to get a 40% vote share, the BJP is second at 35%. The JD(S) is predicted to get 17% vote share while around 8% is expected to go to others.
The results of the elections will be declared on May 13 less than two weeks from now.