Most exit polls have predicted that the Congress will fare better than the BJP in Karnataka, with two major polls (CVoter and Axis poll) predicting that the Congress will form the government. Dismissing these projections, BJP leaders too have been projecting confidence of winning a simple majority in Karnataka and forming the government without any external assistance. But both parties are leaving nothing to chance. Sources on both sides of the political spectrum have confirmed that they are in talks with opposition candidates.
The BJP believes that a number of probable legislators from Congress are ‘vulnerable’ and are in talks with them. One leader pegged the number at around 25. Meanwhile, the Congress too is in talks with the JD(S) leadership and with individual JD(S) candidates and even BJP candidates. A top Congress leader has initiated conversations with probable winners from the BJP from a region that they are not strong in. A few of the legislators who had defected from Congress, JD(S) to the BJP in 2019 are also in talks with a Congress leader, the source said. "We are also talking on a leadership to leadership level with the JD(S)," another Congress leader said.
The BJP is perhaps the first to openly admit that they will launch an 'operation' even if they don't win a majority. Revenue Minister and BJP senior leader R Ashoka told a Kannada news channel that they will win a majority, but in case they don’t they will start ‘operations with the high command's guidance’. When asked what will the BJP's course of action be if there's a hung assembly, Ashoka said, "We'll form a government. Don't ask how and when." He also said, "If we don't get a majority, we'll start operations (karyacharane) with the guidance of high command."
Most Congress leaders TNM spoke to exuded confidence that the BJP won't launch any operation immediately if they are unable to form the government, and will strike only a few months later. They attribute three reasons for this. One is that the BJP is worried about public perception. "Many BJP leaders and the MLAs who crossed over from Congress and JD(S) in 2019 have not had a good working relationship. In totality, it didn't work out for them. Also, it took them more than one and half years to convince 17 MLAs to jump sides. So this won't be an easy overnight task," another Congress leader said.