Karnataka Elections 2018: Jan Ki Baat's Exit Poll Says the BJP will emerge as the single largest party

Jan Ki Baat has published its exit polls based on Karnataka Assembly election numbers till 5 pm on Saturday.

As per the Jan Ki Baat exit poll, there is set to be a big swing in comparison to the previous assembly elections in 2013 where the Congress had stormed to power.

While the Congress had stormed to power five years ago by leaping from 80 to 122 seats, this time around, as per Jan Ki Baat, the Rahul Gandhi and Siddaramaiah-led party is projected to see its tally fall to 73-82 seats.

Meanwhile, the BJP, which has 40 seats in the current assembly is projected by Jan Ki Baat to jump to 95-114, emerging as the single largest party.

The JD(S), meanwhile, looks set to remain close to the 40 seats it currently has with Jan Ki Baat's exit poll projecting it to win 32-43 seats in the 2018 assembly elections.

In terms of voteshare, Jan Ki Baat's exit poll projects the BJP to get the highest voteshare with 38.25% of the votes, while the Congress is projected to win 36.5% and the JD(S), 22.5% of the votes.

Here are the consolidated Jan Ki Baat exit poll numbers:

The Karnataka Assembly elections come at a critical time in Indian politics, a year to go before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and a year after perhaps the BJP's biggest electoral achievement -- the stellar win in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Given that the last major win for the Opposition was in the Bihar elections in 2015 and Karnataka is the last large state, apart from Punjab, to be held by the Congress, it presents the BJP with a chance to go further than anybody ever has in making a 'Congress mukt Bharat', as has been party president Amit Shah's goal. Follow the Karnataka Elections in-depth here.

Counting of votes in the Karnataka Assembly elections is scheduled to take place on May 15