A recent survey released by research organisation ‘C fore’ claimed that the Congress would manage to overcome the anti-incumbency factor and form a majority government on its own in Karnataka. The survey, carried out between 19 July and 10 August and 24,679 voters across regions, predicted that the Congress would win with a big majority.
Former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy called the survey a “big sham,” while the BJP mysteriously declined to comment on the same.
Kumaraswamy told reporters that the company carrying out the survey was headed by Premchand Palety, who was close to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and was also the adviser to Home Minister Kempaiah.
What else will such a person do but bring out a survey supporting Siddaramaiah? They are even capable of saying Siddaramaiah will win 230 seats.JD(S) state chief
The survey predicted that the Indian National Congress would win 120 to 132 seats with a vote share of 43 percent. The survey implied that the Congress stood a chance to even increase its number of seats compared to the 2013 election. The party had won 122 seats in 2013 with a total vote share of 36.59 percent.
Principal Opposition, the BJP, was slated to come second winning 60 to 72 seats with a vote share of 32 percent, while the JD(S) was expected to win 24 to 30 seats with a total vote share of 17 percent. This meant that though the BJP’s tally would increase from their currently held 40 seats, it would be at the expense of the JD(S).
In 2013, the BJP and the JD(S) had won 40 seats each, with each grabbing a vote share close to 20 percent.
Other than this, the JD(S), which has played a kingmaker in recent elections barring the 2013 polls, was predicted to be reduced to an insignificant player.
Reacting to the survey, senior BJP leader KS Eashwarappa said, “I am unaware of the survey,”
Media advisor to the Chief Minister, Dinesh Amin Mattu, said the party expects a similar result as predicted by the survey.
What the Survey Says
According to the survey, only 29 percent of the respondents said that were are not satisfied with the current government. While 18 percent of the respondents said they were extremely satisfied with the current government, another 53 percent said they were somewhat satisfied.
Moreover, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah fared as the most popular Chief Minister with 46 percent respondents supporting him. While BJP’s chief ministerial face had the support of 27 percent, Kumaraswamy only had 18 percent respondents backing him.
The survey claimed that 44 percent of the respondents found the current Congress better functioning than the previous BJP government. About 28 percent of the respondents voted for the BJP government. The previous JD(S) government had the support of only 10 percent of the surveyed voters.
(This article was originally published in an arrangement with The News Minute.)
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