Published 16:33 IST, December 9th 2019
Jan Ki Baat predicts Karnataka bypolls; 'Victory of Stability,' says Pradeep Bhandari
With the BJP dominating the Karnataka by-election by winning 12 seats out of 15, the Jan Ki Baat exit poll has once again managed to predict the election
With the BJP dominating the Karnataka by-election by winning 12 seats out of 15, the Jan Ki Baat exit poll has once again managed to predict the election result precisely. While speaking to Republic Media Network, Jan Ki Baat founder and psephologist Pradeep Bhandari called it a “victory of stability” and a great opportunity for the BJP to increase its foothold in Karnataka as BJP has won in constituencies where it had never won before such as Mysuru-Mandya region and Chikkaballapur.
The Republic-Jan Ki Baat poll had also predicted the 2018 assembly elections of Karnataka down to a T, with BJP winning 104 seats. Describing the nature of this by-election, Pradeep Bhandari said, “This election was a test whether the people would be voting for stability, or will they be voting against the candidates who defected considering them immoral and unethical. However, people have shown that stability in Karnataka is more important.”
“Congress and JD(S) have been historically non-aligned parties fighting against each other. However, in 2018, they forged an alliance to stop BJP from coming to power and formed a coalition government with Kumaraswamy of JD(S) as Chief Minister. However, due to disputes between the workers of the two parties and the ideological difference between Congress and JD(S), the coalition did not last long,” added Bhandari.
Backdrop of 2018
Giving a backdrop of the 2018 assembly election, Pradeep Bhandari opined that the votes garnered by the Congress and JD(S) in the 2018 election were not due to their respective parties’ names, but due to the vote bank of the candidates; but formation of Cong-JD(S) alliance was a compromise for most of the candidates who have been fighting against each other, hence they defected to BJP. “With the concept of the principle of stability overplaying in the voters’ mind, they did not treat the defection as immoral or unethical,” he said.
Growing foothold of BJP in Karnataka
Explaining the importance of the seats won by BJP in this by-poll and how it can help BJP grow its foothold in the state, Pradeep Bhandari said, “BJP has won in Chikkaballapur after the Congress candidate shifted to BJP. Winning Chikkaballapur is like BJP winning crucial seats in West Bengal for the first time in 2019.” Earlier BJP had presence only in North Karnataka but now with this by-election, it has the ability to grow in entire Karnataka in three to four years, opined Bhandari.
15 assemblies in Karnataka went to polls on December 5, with the vote counting and result announced on Monday. Prior to the election result, Congress had hinted a post-poll alliance with JD(S) however, the alliance doesn’t seem to be necessary as the BJP has won with a clear majority. BJP needed a minimum of six seats to stay afloat in Karnataka but has won 12.
Updated 23:53 IST, December 9th 2019