New Delhi: The Congress would be in a position to form a government in Karnataka, getting past the halfway mark of 113 seats in the 225-member house while the ruling BJP’s tally would go down significantly, a survey said yesterday.
According to a pre-poll survey conducted by CSDS for CNN-IBN channel and the Week magazine, the Congress is estimated to get between 117 and 129 seats against just 39 to 49 seats for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) is likely to get 34-44 seats and the Karnataka Janata Party (KJP) and independents together may end up with 14-22 seats, it said.
Karnataka would vote on May 5. The results would be out on May 8.
According to the survey, the Congress is likely to secure the most votes with a 37 percent vote share, indicating a gain of two percent over the 2008 poll.
The BJP is likely to get only 23 percent of votes — a significant fall of 11 percent compared to its performance in the last assembly election.
According to the survey, the BJP’s loss will be gain for new entrant and former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa’s KJP, which is likely to get an estimated seven percent votes.
The JD-S may finish third with a marginal gain in its vote share.
In a region-wise analysis, the pre-poll survey suggests the Congress is likely to consolidate and lead the BJP in the four regions of Hyderabad Karnataka, Mumbai Karnataka, central Karnataka and Bangalore.
In coastal Karnataka, it is likely to be a close race between the BJP and the Congress, and a close contest between the JD-S and the Congress in southern Karnataka is predicted.
The survey shows JD-S leader and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy as the most preferred chief minister.
IANS
