BJP DOING WELL IN KARNATAKA, SAY EXIT POLLS
new delhi — Exit polls in the southern Indian state of Karnataka on Saturday suggest Narendra Modi’s BJP could emerge as the leading party, potentially boosting the prime minister’s chances of winning a second term in general elections early next year.
Both Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi have campaigned hard in Karnataka, a state of 66 million people with diverse constituencies.
While three TV channels predicted 80 to 114 seats for Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, short of the half-way mark in the 224-member house, polls also forecast 22-43 seats for a regional group, Janata Dal (S), which could emerge as a kingmaker.
Modi is seeking to wrest control over one of the few places left in the hands of the opposition Congress party and with the help of other small parties, Modi’s party has captured power in some other states such as Goa.
Another poll by India Today TV, released after voting closed on Saturday, predicted 106-118 seats for the Congress party in Karnataka, which is the only place in South India where the BJP has ever managed to win control of the state government.
The Hindu nationalist BJP and its allies hold power in 22 of India’s 29 states, but after Karnataka, three more state elections are due to take place by the end of the year.
Votes will be counted on Monday and exit polls and other surveys have often been wrong in India.
bengaluru — A high-stake battle for the Karnataka Assembly ended on Saturday evening, with over 35 million voting in an election crucial for the ruling Congress as well as the BJP and the JD-S.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said he was “very very confident” that the Congress would retain power in the only major southern state it now rules even as officials said about 70 per cent of the over 50.59 million electorate had voted till 6pm.
Voting was peaceful by and large barring a few incidents of some non-functional EVMs, missing voter names and procedural delays, an official said.
All three main contenders for power — Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) — claimed they would win hands down.
Voting in Chikkaballapur and Ramanagara districts witnessed a record 76 per cent polling, while the average polling across Bengaluru was 48 per cent till 5.30pm.
The BJP’s Chief Ministerial face B.S. Yeddyurappa was among the first to vote at Shikaripura in Shivamogga district. He claimed the BJP will secure 140-150 seats and that he will invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi to his swearing in.
Siddaramaiah ridiculed him after voting on Saturday, saying the BJP leader was “mentally disturbed” and that the Congress was sure of bagging more than 120 seats.
JD-S chief and former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda, his wife Chennamma and second son H.D. Revanna cast their votes in their hometown Holenarsipura in Hassan district.
“We expect a possibility of forming the government as we have done well to get a majority,” Deve Gowda told reporters.
Polling in Bengaluru’s Raja Rajeshwari Nagar segment has been postponed to May 28 following the discovery of voter ID cards and cancelled in the city’s Jayanagar seat following the death of BJP contestant B.N. Vijaya Kumar. In all, voting was conducted in 26 of the 28 constituencies in the city.
Karnataka has over 5.59 million electorate, including 26 million men and 25 million women. A total of 1.54 million voters, aged 18-19, have registered for the first time.
The highest number of voters (603,000) are in Bengaluru South and the lowest (170,000) at Sringeri in Chikkamagaluru district.
Polling was held in 58,008 stations in 30 districts, with 600 of them dubbed ‘pink booths’, overseen by women personnel. Over 150,000 security personnel were deployed. The vote count will take place on May 15.
In all, 2,654 candidates are in the fray, including 219 women. A total of 222 are from the Congress and BJP each, 201 from JD-S, 1,155 Independents and 800 from other national, regional and fringe parties. About 450 contestants are in the battle from Bengaluru.
Siddaramaiah is contesting from Chamundeshwari at Mysuru and Badami in Bagalkot district.
BJP’s Lok Sabha member from Ballari B.R. Sriramaulu, contesting from two seats including Badami and Molakamuru (reserved) seat in Chitradurga district, on Saturday worshipped a cow and visited temples before voting.
JD-S state president and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy is in the fray from Ramanagara and Channapatna seats in the old Mysuru region. —
70% turnout in Karnataka assembly election