An opinion poll by India Today has predicted that the Congress will emerge as the single largest party and BJP may not be able to secure enough seats to dislodge the Siddaramaiah government.
Karnataka goes to polls on 12 May to elected the new government in the 224-seat assembly. The counting will take place on 15 May.
With a sample size of 27,919 respondents, the India Today- Karvy Insights opinion poll said thatt 35 percent people said they will vote for the BJP. As for the Congress, the poll said thaty it will retain its vote share of 37 percent, same as 2013, but its seat tally may come down from 122 to in the region of 91-101. The BJP is expected to improve its tally from 50 to over 70.
This is the third opinion poll, which has favoured the Congress since the Election Commission announced the dates for Karnataka elections. First, a survey by C-Fore had said that not only will the Congress party be back in the government on 15 May, but also improve its tally compared to 2013 assembly polls. The survey by C-Fore, which was conducted between 1 and 25 March using a sample size of 22,357 voters across 154 assembly constituencies, said that the Congress will improve its vote share by 9%.
In 2013, the same polling agency had predicted 118-120 seats for the Congress, but the party had ended up winning 122 seats. The C-Fore survey, according to News18, also predicted an improved showing by the BJP, which the agency said may end up winning 70 seats in the 224-seat assembly.
But what really caused sleepless nights to the BJP top brass was the party’s own internal survey, which gave the Congress a lead in more than 100 seats. A report by Deccan Chronicle had said that ground reports reaching the national headquarters of the BJP indicated that the party’s move to project the “tainted” BS Yeddyurappa as their chief ministerial candidate had “not gone down well” with the electorate in Karnataka.