Cong-JD(S) math may not have clicked

BENGALURU: Most exit polls predicted that the Bharatiya Janata Party might better its 2014 tally in the state, with only one predicting that it may win the exact number of seats it won last time. The state has 28 seats.

Four exit polls suggested the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition seemed not to have wielded much influence , and that the BJP might have been able to consolidate. In 2014, the BJP won 17 seats, the Congress 9 and the JD(S) 2. The India Today-Axis poll projected the BJP may win 21 to 25 seats , and the coalition 3-6. The News18 IPSOS poll suggested the BJP could win 21-23 seats and the coalition 5-7 seats. According to News24-Today’s Chanakya, the BJP and allies were likely to win 23 seats and the coalition five. Only the India TV-CNX poll suggested the BJP would not record an increase of seats, projecting that it would win 17.

However, the poll projected a reduction of one for the Congress and an increase of one to the JD(S). BJP state spokesperson S Prakash said the party was expecting to win 22 seats and, hence, the exit polls did not come as a surprise. “We have been saying from the beginning we will win more than 22 seats and the exit polls seem to be capturing that trend,” he said.

State Congress working president Eshwar Khandre said the exit polls had got the numbers completely wrong. “Exit polls are never correct and these numbers are no exceptions. We are expecting to win at least 15 seats ourselves, apart from what the JD(S) will win,” he said.

JD(S) state president AH Vishwanath, too, echoed Khandre, saying the exit polls were not to be trusted. “It is well known that they are almost always incorrect,” he said. However, political analyst Narayana A said the numbers seemed to have captured the trend correctly.