New Delhi: An opinion poll conducted by ABP-CVoter predicts the Congress party forming the next government in Karnataka while the BJP could lose big in the only southern state where it is in power. The performance of the Janata Dal (Secular) [JD(S)] in the May 10 state assembly elections is expected to be quite below the mark, the survey suggests.
Opinion poll figures show that out of 224 assembly seats in Karnataka, Congress is likely to win 107 to 119 seats, with the BJP finishing a distant second with 74 to 86 seats. The JD(S) can get 23 to 35 seats, as per the survey, while others are expected to win 0 to 5 seats.
Congress party is projected to dominate the Greater Bangalore region (32 seats), Central Karnataka region (35 seats), Mumbai-Karnataka region (50 seats) and Hyderabad Karnataka region (31 seats) while competing neck and neck with the JD(S) in Old Mysore region (55 seats). BJP’s performance is expected to be good only in the coastal Karnataka region (21 seats).
The opinion polls numbers are bad news for the ruling BJP which has never won a simple majority in the state, despite forming government through defections from other parties. This exercise by the saffron party was popularly known as Operation Kamala. Its state government has been battling with charges like corruption, earning the moniker “40% commission”, and the party’s central leadership’s failure to quell an internal rebellion.
The ABP News-CVoter poll received responses from 17,772 people in Karnataka. Data suggests that the BJP is 5% behind the Congress in terms of vote share. Congress is projected to get a 40% vote share, with the BJP trailing at 35%. JD(S) may get 17% of the votes, mainly from its traditional strongholds. Around 8% of the votes are expected to go to others.
The results of the election will be announced on May 13.