New Delhi: As the high-octane elections to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly concluded on Wednesday, both Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress dismissed the possibility of a coalition with any other party and said they were confident of forming the government with an absolute majority. The Congress and BJP reactions came in the wake of the exit poll results that show the southern state is likely to see a hung Assembly as neither party is set to surpass the majority mark of 113.
Speaking on the exit polls, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader BS Yediyurappa said he is confident that the saffron party will get 115-117 seats and and there is no question of joining with JD(S) as the BJP would form the government with absolute majority.
“Even now I am 100% confident that we are going to form the government with absolute majority. There is no question of a hung assembly or a coalition government, but the national leadership will take the final call. We are going to get 115-117 seats so the question of joining with JD(S) right now does not arise. Let us wait and see,” news agency ANI quoted Yediyurappa as saying.
Notably, this year most exit polls have predicted that Congress would emerge as the single largest party, winning anywhere between 90-112 seats, with BJP breathing down its neck.
Only two exit polls -- Times-Now ETG and Zee News -- have predicted the possibility of a Congress victory and two others have predicted BJP will form the government by winning 114 and 117 respectively.
Responding to the exit poll results, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, as quoted by ANI, said, “Exit polls are exit polls, it can't be 100% correct. We are going to get a complete majority and form the government. I think we should wait till 13th May.” "I am very much confident that we will come back to power with an absolute majority, I am 200% confident. Exit polls are done in a hurry, and there will be lots of errors. There is no question of anybody becoming the kingmaker, for me the people are the kingmaker and they will bring BJP back to power," he added.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Jagadish Shettar said his party would come back to power with a clear majority in the southern state. "Congress will get a clear majority and form the government. According to exit polls, Congress is the single largest party. There is no question of coalition with any other party, especially JD(S)," he said.
Karnataka Congress chief Shivakumar said he still stands by what he said earlier, that his party will cross the 146-mark. "My first reaction is that I don't believe these numbers (exit polls). I stand by my numbers that we will cross 146 seats. People are highly educated and are looking at larger interests because the double engine has failed in Karnataka. The situation will not arise (to form alliance with any party)," he said.
ABP-CVoter exit poll results for Karnataka show that the Congress will fall marginally short of a clear majority, winning 100-112 seats. Incumbent BJP will lose ground as it is expected to get between 83 and 95 assembly seats in its southern citadel. HD Kumaraswamy-led JD(S) is projected to secure between 21 and 29 assembly seats, as per the ABP-CVoter exit poll. In 2018, they won 37 assembly seats.