A day ahead of the crucial Karnataka Assembly Election results, state Congress chief DK Shivakumar has expressed confidence that his party will have a comfortable majority in the state and will form the next government. When asked about the comments of the Janata Dal (Secular) about the party's decision on an alliance, he refused to comment and said Congress doesn't have any backup plan and the party's only plan is to come to power in the state which saw aggressive campaigning by all top leaders of the country. The Janata Dal (Secular) has said it has decided with whom it will form the government and will announce it when the time comes.
He said, "Exit polls have their own theory. We don't go by those samples, my sample size is too high and in that, we will have a comfortable majority. I do not know about JD(S), let them take their own call. I don't have any backup plan, my only plan is that the Congress party will come to power."
The counting of votes polled for the May 10 Karnataka Assembly polls, which witnessed a fierce fight between archrivals BJP and the Congress, besides the JD(S) will be taken up on Saturday as the parties are waiting with bated breath to know their fate over the possibility of a hung assembly.
JD(S) national spokesperson Tanveer Ahmed said, "We have already decided with whom we are going to form the government. We will announce it to the public when the appropriate time comes."
The electoral fortunes of top leaders-- Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai of the BJP, Congress heavyweights Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar and JD(S)' HD Kumaraswamy, among many others will be known on Saturday.
The counting will begin at 8 am in 36 centres across the state, and poll officials expect a clear picture about the outcome is likely to emerge by mid-day.
The State registered a "record" turnout of 73.19 per cent in the voting on May 10, to elect representatives to the 224-member Assembly.
With most exit polls predicting a tight contest between the Congress and BJP, leaders of the two parties seem "jittery" over the outcome, while the JD(S) appears to be expecting a hung verdict, which would enable it to play a role in government formation. Most pollsters have given an edge to the Congress over the ruling BJP, while also indicating the possibility of a hung Assembly in the state.
Having banked on the Modi juggernaut, the ruling BJP is looking to break a 38-year-old poll jinx where the people have never voted the incumbent party to power, while the Congress is hoping for a morale booster victory to give it a much-needed elbow room and momentum to position itself as the main opposition player in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
It also remains to be seen whether former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda-led JD(S) will emerge as a "kingmaker" or a "king" by holding the key to government formation, in the event of a hung verdict, as it has done in the past.
Like it has been the trend for about the last two decades, Karnataka witnessed a three-cornered contest, with a direct fight between the said parties in most of the constituencies.