Bengaluru: All eyes are on Karnataka election result 2023 which will be announced on Saturday. The outcome is crucial for both the BJP and Congress in the run-up to the general elections in 2024. The exit polls largely predicted a significant vote swing in Congress's favour though the BJP has rubbished the exit polls saying this is a prediction and has nothing to do with reality which will show a clean sweep for the saffron party. Earlier, the voting was concluded to elect the 224 members of the state Assembly. A clear picture of the result is likely to emerge by noon.
Record turnout
This time, Karnataka election has see a turnout of 73.19 per cent, which surpassed the 72.36 per cent recorded in 2018.
A quick recap reveals a total of 737 theme-based and ethnic Model Polling stations which were set up in the run-up to the polls. At 239 Polling stations set up in the state, voters were greeted by PwD staff. As part of the initiative of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to inspire young voters to participate in the voting process. As many as 286 Polling Stations set up were managed by the youngest available staff. There were over 11.71 lakh first-time voters registered in the state.
Significant State elections ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls
This Assembly election carried much significance as it was held almost a year before the 2024 general elections. The half way mark in the 224 seat Assembly is 113 seats. Here is what you need to know ahead of the counting. The counting will be held in 36 centres across the State.
2018 statistics
In the 2018 assembly elections, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party emerged as the single-largest party with 104 seats, followed by the Congress with 78 seats and the Janata Dal (Secular) with 37. This time in the 224 Assembly constituencies, a total of 2,615 candidates contested the polls.
Exit Polls
Exit polls predicted significant gain for the Congress. The party is projected as having a clear edge in Karnataka as four exit polls giving it a full majority and some predicting a hung assembly with an advantage to the party. A few exit polls also said that BJP is ahead in the sweepstakes to form the government.
Despite the fact that the exit polls predicted that Janata Dal-Secular JD(S) would not touch the 37 seats it won in the 2018 polls but the party is likely to be a king maker in case the scenario of a hung assembly arises. According to India Today-Axis My India exit poll, Congress is poised to win a comfortable majority with 122-140 seats, BJP will get 62-80 seats, JD(S) 20-25 and others 0-3 seats.
The poll of polls shows an advantage for the Congress with the party poised to win 109 seats, BJP 91 seats and JD-S 23. According to News24-Today's Chanakya, the Congress will cross the halfway mark. It predicted 92 seats for BJP, 120 seats for Congress and 12 seats for JD-S .
Times Now-ETG poll and India TV-CNX poll also predicted Congress getting the majority mark. Times Now-ETG said BJP is expected to win 85 seats, Congress 113, JD-S 23 and others three. India TV-CNX poll gave 80-90 seats to BJP, 110-120 to Congress, JD-S 20-24 and 1-3 to others.
Republic P-MARQ has predicted that Congress would get a 40 per cent vote share, BJP 36 per cent, JD(S) 17 per cent and seven per cent for independents and others. The poll predicted that no party would get the majority mark in Karnataka with BJP poised to get 85-100 seats, Congress 94-108, JD-S 24-32 and others 2-6 seats.
The ABP-C Voter exit poll predicted 83-95 seats for BJP, 100-112 to Congress, 21-29 to JD(S) and 2-6 to others. TV9 Bharatvarsh-Polstrat poll, which predicted a hung assembly, said that BJP would win 88-98 seats, Congress 99-109 seats, JD-S 21-26 seats and others 0-4 seats.
The Zee News-Matrize exit poll gave a clear advantage to Congress. It predicted BJP getting 79-94 seats, Congress 103-118 seats, JD-S 25-33 seats and others 2-5 seats. The News Nation-CGS exit poll predicted a majority for BJP. It predicted that BJP will win 114 seats, Congress 86, JD-S 21 and others 3.
Asianet Suvarna News-Jan Ki Baat also predicted that BJP will be ahead of Congress with a better chance of forming the government. As per the exit poll, BJP is expected to get 94-117 seats while Congress would be close second with 91-106 seats. It said JD(S) is expected to get 14-24 seats, while 0-2 seats would go to other parties.
The fiercely contested election that saw high-pitch campaigns from the political parties is crucial for both BJP and Congress. Hectic electioneering by leaders of various political parties saw BJP allowing Union Ministers and Chief Ministers to campaign with their full force.
A set of factors worked against the ruling BJP government which is facing anti-incumbency this time. According to poll pundits, the Congress on the other hand ran a well-oiled campaign to tilt voters support in its favour to wrest power from the BJP that is striving to break the 38-year-old pattern of alternating governments and retain its power in the state. Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, ran a spirited campaign with more number of rallies. The party is hoping to end the BJP rule buoyed by the trend that no incumbent government has returned to power in Karnataka after a full term of five years since 1985 though BJP banks highly on high-pitched canvassing led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
