With Karnataka poised for a single-phase election on 12 May, agencies have been releasing opinion polls. On Monday, 23 April, ABP News-Lokniti CSDS released its opinion poll, predicting a hung assembly, with the Bharatiya Janata Party edging Congress out by a very small margin.
The poll has predicted that the BJP will likely emerge as the single largest party with 89-95 seats. The Congress is expected to follow close behind with 85-91 seats under its belt, predicted the poll.
The JD(S) is likely to play kingmaker in the elections, predicted the survey, with a deciding 32-38 seats in its favour.
The Karnataka state assembly has 224 seats in total.
Earlier, the India Today opinion polls had predicted that the BJP’s vote share is likely to go up, but not enough to dislodge the current Congress government.
According to the India Today Group's Karvy Insights opinion poll, the Congress would likely retain its vote share with 90-101 seats. Meanwhile, the BJP's seat share, although showing an improvement, stayed at 78-86. Meanwhile, the poll predicted that JD(S) would secure 34-43 seats.
The Karnataka election results will be declared on 15 May and the current Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s tenure will expire on 24 May.
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