Karnataka Election 2023: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to lose the assembly election in Karnataka,. As per the opinion poll, the BJP is expected to get just 74-86 seats, down 24 from what the party had got in 2018. The saffron party is expected to get a 35 per cent vote share, down from 36.35 per cent in 2018.
The Congress, on the other hand, is likely to get 107-119 seats with a 40 per cent vote share. The grand old party is expected to gain 33 seats this time. Congress leader Siddaramaiah is the most favoured leader (42 per cent) for the chief minister’s post followed by BJP’s Basavraj Bommai (31 per cent), according to the polls. The Janata Dal (Secular) is expected to bag 23-35 seats with a 17 per cent vote share. Others are expected to win 0-5 seats.
The poll has predicted a 5 per cent vote share gain for the Congress in central Karnataka, for BJP a 7 per cent loss and JDS is likely to stay roughly where it is. The Central Karnataka region has 35 seats. Of these, Congress is likely to win 21, ten seats more than what it had won in the previous election. BJP, which had won 24 last time, is projected to bag just 14.
In coastal Karnataka, considered the stronghold of Congress, the JDS is likely to make gains from 6 per cent vote share in the last election to 10 per cent this time. But it won’t translate in any seat for the JDS. The BJP is expected to get 17 seats with 48 per cent votes, down from 51 per cent in 2018. Here, the Congress is likely to bag 4 seats.
In Bengaluru, the BJP is expected to better its tally and win 13 of 32 seats, while Congress is likely to win 17. The JDS is predicted to win 2 seats, two less than what it had won in 2018.
In the Hyderabad-Karnataka region, which has 31 seats, the Congress is likely to increase its number from 15 seats in 2018 to 21 this time with a 45 per cent vote share. The saffron party, on the other hand, is likely to settle with 10 seats, two less than what it had got in the last election. The JDS, which had got 4 seats in 2018, is predicted to get zero this time.
The Congress is also predicted to do well in the Mumbai-Karnataka region, which has 50 seats. Here, the Congress is likely to win 28 seats while the BJP may bag just 22.
According to the poll, unemployment (31 per cent) was the key issue followed by infrastructure (24 per cent), educational facilities (14 per cent) and corruption (13 per cent).
In the 2018 assembly election, the BJP had won 104 of 224 seats but fell short of the majority mark of 113. The Congress, which had won the election in 2013, was down to 80 seats. The JDS bagged 37 with over 18 per cent vote share. The Congress-JDS formed the government but the coalition fell after a batch of MLAs defected to the BJP.
