Hubballi: Two newly married couples show their ink-marked fingers after casting their votes for Karnataka Assembly elections in Hubbali on Saturday. PTI Photo (PTI5_12_2018_000142B) New Delhi : The Bharatiya Janata Party is seen making huge gains in the exit polls at the end of Saturday’s polling in the Karnataka Assembly elections with 67% polling, but most threw up a fractured mandate that brings former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda”s Janata Dal (Secular) in the kingmaker’s role to decide who forms the government in the conflicting assessment of a hung Assembly.
India-Today-Axis My India shows Congress retaining power with 106 to 118 seats and same is verdict of the Kannad TV Suvarna while Republic Jan ki Baat’s exit poll shows BJP having a distinct possibility to form the government with 95-114 seats.
India Today-Axis My India surveyed 70,574 voters in all the 222 assemblies that went to polls.
India TV-VMR Exit Poll has predicted hung assembly in Karnataka. It said that Congress is likely to get 97 seats, BJP 87, JD(S)+ 35, others 3 seats.
ABP C-Voter exit poll has predicted 101-113 seats for BJP, claiming that the saffron party is likely to reach the ‘magic figure’ of 113 seats. It predicts 82 to 94 seats for Congress, while JD(S) and others will get 18-31 seats and 1 to 8 seats respectively.
Times Now-VMR exit poll, the Congress is likely to be the single largest party with 90-103 seats, the BJP second largest party with 80-93 seats. It said that JD (S) will win 30-39 seats and others 2-4 seats.
NDTV’s Exit Poll said BJP will be single largest party with 98 seats, Congress second largest party with 88 seats, and JD (S) will be a Kingmaker with 33 seats.
NewsX-CNX exit poll has claimed that the BJP is set to be elected as the single largest party in the state, with close to 102-110 seats, followed by the Congress with 72-78 seats and JDS with 35-39 seats. The Congress had won 122 seats and the BJP 40 seats in the last Karnataka Assembly election in 2013.
At least seven of the 11 exit polls give an edge to BJP, very close to 112 seats needed in the polling for 222 in the 224-member House while NDTV shows voters balancing Congress and BJP with each getting 94 seats and JD (S) 32.
The contesting political parties have kept their fingers crossed until Tuesday when the actual counting will take place. Here are results of some of the exit polls as there were many also by regional TV networks and newspapers that only created more confusion.