Will the 2018 'Nataka' be re-enacted in Karnataka in 2023?

Karnataka Assembly 2023: Exit polls are pointing towards a close fight till the end between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress party. However, the 2018 Assembly election results did not give any party a clear majority. Here is what some of the Exit Polls predicted in 2018:

Exit polls for the 2023 Karnataka Assembly election are pointing towards a close fight till the end between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress party. Though the BJP may seem to have a slight advantage, on May 13 when the counting of votes is taken up, there may be a scenario where no party may cross the halfway point. That's exactly what happened in 2018 when Janata Dal-Secular ended up becoming the state's kingmaker.

The 2018 Assembly election results did not give any party a clear majority. With 104 MLAs in a House of 224, the BJP was called upon to form the government following the results. However, the Congress party and Janata Dal-Secular quickly came together and assembled 116 names (Congress 76, JD-S 37 and three Independents) to form the government.

The Congress-JDS government was short-lived. In 2019, 15 JD-S and Congress legislators resigned, leading to bypolls where the BJP ended up bagging another 12 MLAs to its tally. The BJP then formed the government with BS Yediyurappa as the chief minister for his fourth term. In July 2021, the BJP replaced Yediyurappa with Basavaraj Bommai. 

Let us take a look at what some of the Exit Polls predicted in 2018:  

ABP-C Voter:
BJP: 104-116 seats
Congress: 83-94 seats
JD(S): 20-29 seats

NewsX-CNX:
BJP: 102-110 seats
Congress: 72-78 seats
JD(S): 35-39 seats
Others: 3-5 seats

Republic-Jan ki Baat poll:
BJP: 95-114 seats
Congress: 73-82 seats
JD(S): 32-43 seats
Others: 02-03 seats

In 2023, all three of the main parties fought an intense campaign, culminating in heated exchanges between the BJP and the Congress party in the last few days of the campaign. The BJP was contending with anti-incumbency, accusations of corruption, the strain of growing living costs, and the pressure of a few leaders leaving the party's primary caste base, the Lingayats.

Meanwhile, the Congress party announced a package of five guarantees aimed mostly at the poor in an effort to capitalise on the perceived general outrage over the growing cost of living, which includes the price of gasoline and cooking gas.

Now let us check the 2023 Exit Poll predictions:

Will the 2018 'Nataka' be re-enacted in Karnataka in 2023? All eyes are now on May 13.