Karnataka Elections 2023: Exit polls predict hung Assembly. What could this mean?

Voting for elections in the 224-seat Karnataka Assembly ended at 7 pm on Wednesday and exit polls are out. The verdict? A hung Assembly on the cards with the Congress having a slight advantage over the BJP and the JD(S) possibly playing kingmaker yet again. Remember, a party needs 113 seats to form the next Karnataka government. Firstpost takes a look at the exit polls — News Nation-CGS, Zee News Matrize agency, Suvarna News-Jan Ki Baat, Republic TV-P MARQ, TV 9-Bharatvansh-Polstrat, ABP News-C Voter, Times Now-ETG Exit Poll, India TV-CNX — to give you a picture of how things may pan out and the key takeaways. Let’s take a closer look:

• The News Nation-CGS Exit Poll gives the BJP 114 seats, the Congress 86 seats, and the JD(S) 21 seats.
• The Zee News-Matrize poll gives the BJP 79-94 seats, the Congress 103-118 seats, and the JD(S) 25-33 seats;
• The Suvarna-News Jan Ki Baat poll predicts that the BJP will get between 94 and 117 seats for the BJP, the Congress will net anywhere from 91 to 106 seats and the JDS 14 to 24 seats.
• The Republic P-Marq says the BJP could win around 85-100 seats, the Congress 94 to 108 seats and the JD(S) 24 to 32
• The TV9 Bharatvarsh-Polstrat predicts 88 to 98 seats for the BJP, 99 to 109 for the Congress and 21-26 seats for JD(s).
• ABP News C-Voter poll gives BJP 88-98 seats, the Congress 99-109 seats and the JDS 21 to 26 seats
• Times Now-ETG poll puts Congress at 113 seats, pegs BJP at 85 seats and JD(S) at 23 seats.
• The India TV CNX exit poll gives Congress 110 to 120 seats, and the BJP 80 to 90 seats.

Just two of the exit polls News Nation-CGS Exit Poll and  Suvarna-News Jan Ki Baat favour the BJP, while most polls give Congress the edge in a close battle with the BJP but predict that a hung Assembly is likely.

Keep in mind that exit polls aren’t always correct.

In 2018, six of eight exit polls gave BJP the clear edge over Congress, but also said a hung Assembly may be on the cards. Recall that though the BJP emerged as the single-largest party with 104 seats, followed by the Congress with 78 seats and the Janata Dal (Secular) with 37 seats, it was the Congress and JD(S) that formed the government The BJP came to power in 2019 after defections from the Opposition. Key takeaways It seems the BJP has an uphill task to retain power in its southern citadel.

No party has won back-to-back Assembly elections in the state since 1985.

Political researcher Kartikeya Batra told NDTV, “Modi magic works in conjunction with the state leadership. Whatever the BJP will largely do will be based on his direction but can he pull it off alone? I doubt that.” But speaking to News18 after the exit polls_,_ BJP leader BS Yediyurappa said, “Let us wait for the counting. BJP will get absolute majority. BJP will form the government in the state. I know the pulse of the people. We will form the government. I have visited the state. After counting, we will take appropriate decision. Lingayat community is happy with BJP.” Political analyst A Narayana told Al Jazeera voter anger against the state government could give the party reasons to worry and the Congress reasons to rejoice. For the Congress, a victory in Karnataka would give a fillip to Rahul Gandhi’s political fortunes. Political expert Sandeep Shastri told the outlet, “The Congress has its nose ahead.” For the JD(S), this is yet another chance to play kingmaker. Recall in 2018 how the party allied with the Congress and formed the government with HD Kumaraswamy at the helm. While Kumaraswamy has claimed that the JD(S) has no interest in tying up with the BJP or the Congress, in politics talk remains cheap. Votes will be counted in Karnataka on 13 May. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.