A day after exit polls predicted a hung assembly in Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah took to Twitter expressing confidence in forming the government a second time in a state which has never returned the same government to power since 1989.
On Sunday, 13 May, the 69-year-old Siddaramaiah, who contested from Chamundeshwari and Badami constituencies, dubbed the exit polls as “entertainment for the next two days”.
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“Exit opinion polls are entertainment for the next 2 days,” he wrote.
Siddaramaiah then gave a philosophical take on what exit polls mean – at least to him.
“Relying on poll of polls is like a person who can’t swim crossing a river on foot relying on a statistician who told him the average depth of the river is 4 feet,” he wrote.
“Please note average of 6+4+2 is 4. At 6 feet you drown!” he explained.
With that message, Siddaramaiah appealed to Congress workers to take rest and enjoy the weekend.
“So, Dear party workers, supporters & well wishers, don’t worry about exit polls. Relax & enjoy your weekend. We are coming back,” he signed off.
Following the end of a hectic day of polling across the state, various exit polls predicted a fractured verdict.
The exit poll conducted by India Today TV news channel placed the Congress ahead in Karnataka by giving it 106-118 seats in the 224 member House. It has given the BJP between 69-92 seats, while Janta Dal (Secular) gets 22-30 seats.
The exit poll conducted by Times Now and VMX gave 90-103 seats to the Congress against 80-93 of the BJP and 30-39 of the JD(S).
In the ABP News-C Voter post-polling survey, the BJP was ahead of the Congress. The saffron party was given 101-113 seats against 82-94 of Congress. JD(S) got about 18-31 seats.
The exit poll of India TV, too, placed the Congress ahead by giving it 97 seats against 87 of the BJP and 35 of the JD(S).
The Republic TV-Jan Ki Baat exit poll predicted 95-114 seats for BJP, 73-82 seats for Congress, 32-43 seats for JDS and 2-3 seats for Others.
Local Kannada channel, Suvarna’s exit poll predicted 106 to 118 seats for Congress, 79-92 seats for BJP, 22-30 seats for JD (S) and 1-4 seats for Others.
The polling took place for 222 seats in the state and the results will be out on 15 May.