BJP leader Amit Malviya on Karnataka exit poll: ‘Keep an ambulance handy in case...’

Exit polls have predicted a hung assembly in Karnataka but with a edge to Congress, BJP leader Amit Malviya in a tweet said that "there is nothing to suggest, either in the voting percentage or on the ground, that Congress will have a run away win. So relax! Take a deep breath and wait for 13th."

"These are just Exit Polls and not the actual result. Keep an ambulance handy in case the result flips, which is very likely," he said.

Exit polls on Wednesday predicted a tight race between the Congress and the BJP in the high-stakes Karnataka Assembly polls with most pollsters giving an edge to the grand old party. The result for the three-cornered contest between the ruling BJP, the Congress and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda's Janata Dal (Secular) will be announced on Saturday.


Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday said "the complete ground report has given a clear majority to the BJP", even as each exit poll prediction shows different figures.

"The exit poll results are not cent per cent perfect as it will be five to ten per cent minus," he said.

Reacting to the exit poll predictions, the Congress tweeted, "As the exit polls roll in, it's becoming increasingly clear that the Congress party is on track for a resounding victory."

Party leader Rahul Gandhi in a tweet thanked "the Babbar Sher workers and leaders of Congress for a well-run, dignified and solid people-oriented campaign. Thank you to the people of Karnataka for coming out in large numbers to vote for a progressive future."

In the 2018 Assembly elections, BJP emerged as the single largest party by winning 104 seats out of total 224, followed by the Congress at 80 and JD(S) at 37. There was one independent member, while BSP and Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janata Party (KPJP) had one legislator each.