NEW DELHI, May 5:
Congress is likely to emerge winner in the Karnataka Assembly elections while ruling BJP could end up a distant loser, exit polls and predictions by TV channels claimed today.
All the channels predicted that Congress will win over 110 seats and BJP around 50 seats. The exit polls claimed that former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa’s Karnataka Janata Party will win just over ten seats.
According to estimates by CNN-IBN channel, Congress is likely to get 110 to 116 seats in the elections to the 224-member House, polling for which was held today, while ruling BJP may get between 43 and 53.
H D Deve Gowda-led JD(S) is also likely to get 43 to 53 seats, as per prediction revised by the channel following change in several political factors, including faulty choice of candidates by Congress and infighting in it.
‘Others’ are likely to get 16-24 seats.
In the current Assembly, BJP has 110 MLAs – three short of majority – and rules the state with help of five Independent MLAs who were inducted into the Ministry. Congress has 80 seats and JD(S) 28.
Headlines Today gave Congress a wafer thin majority with 114 seats and BJP 55 seats. JD(S) may bag 34 seats while Yeddyurappa’s party will end up with 11 seats and ‘others’ nine.
Hindi channel ABP news gave Congress 110 to 118 seats and claimed BJP is likely to get 51 to 59 seats. JD(S) was predicted to get 31 to 37 seats while KJP 9 to 13.
Times Now predicted a whopping majority for Congress and pegged its tally at 132, with BJP and JD(S) a distant second with 38 seats each. The channel gave 15 to ‘others’, including KJP and Independents.
Meanwhile, an estimated 69 per cent of the 4.35 crore-strong electorate voted in the Assembly elections in Karnataka today amid projections that beleaguered ruling BJP was on a sticky wicket against a resurgent Congress.
The 7 AM-to-6 PM polling began on a brisk note but appeared to lose steam as the mercury soared before picking up momentum again in the last hours in 223 seats in the 224- member House for which a total of 2,940 candidates were in the fray.
Election in Periyapatna in Mysore district has been put off to May 28 following the death of the BJP candidate.
Briefing reporters, Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer Anil Kumar Jha said a turn out of 63.09 per cent was reported till 5 PM. “Going by the trend we saw in the evening hours, we are estimating it should reach 69 per cent.”
Counting of votes will be taken up on May 8.
Prominent candidates included Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Siddaramaiah, President of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee G Parameshwara, former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and JDS State Unit President H D Kumaraswamy.
Authorities had made elaborate security arrangements with 1.35 lakh police personnel on duty in some 52,000 polling booths where about 65,000 electronic voting machines had been installed.
Barring sporadic incidents, including one at Bellary, the voting was largely peaceful. None of the incidents was of such a nature that called for repolling, Jha said.
Breakaway parties — Karnataka Janatha Paksha of Yeddyurappa and BSR Congress formed by former Minister B Sriramulu — are projected to dent the prospects of BJP, already battered by intra-party fights and allegations of corruption.
Jha said two officials on poll duty died at Honnavar in Uttara Kannada district and in Tumkur district. Sectoral Officer M C Mahendra died before poll in Honnavar early today and Thimmaiah, who was the Presiding Officer, passed away following suspected cardiac arrest in a booth in Madhugiri taluk.
A Haveri report said Leelavathi Mekki, a 28-year-old teacher, who reported for poll duty yesterday at Negalur in Haveri district complained of chest pain and died today in neighbouring Davangere, where she was shifted.
Pre-poll surveys have predicted that Congress is all set to emerge as the single largest party or be at a striking distance of coming to power in the elections.
The strength of BJP, which won 110 seats in the 2008 elections, is forecast to come down by more than half, and that of JDS to improve by a dozen seats compared to 28 the last time around.
Police have arrested four persons who were openly wielding swords in the district headquarters town of Kolar, adding that a major clash was averted between supporters of an independent and a political party.
At Sidlagatta in Chikkaballapura district, one person was injured seriously by supporters of another party. In a Bellary booth, a voter was allegedly hit by a policeman over a trivial issue and sustained injuries in the ear.
In the 2008 elections to the total of 224 seats, BJP, with 33.86 per cent of the votes polled, secured 110 seats, followed by Congress (34.59) with 80 seats and JDS (19.13) with 28 seats.
While the overall voter turnout was 64.91 per cent in the 2008 elections, the average in the 28 segments of Bangalore was a low 47.3 per cent. The lowest in Bangalore was in Sarvajnanagar at 35.40 per cent.
Polling in Bangalore Urban areas was 52 per cent “or so” till 5 PM today which, Jha noted, was better than the 2008 figure. (PTI)
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