Exit polls are convinced that the Congress party will either be the single largest party or will win a comfortable (even thumping majority) in the 2023 Assembly elections. The result will be out on May 13.
If BJP indeed gets defeated, some commentators are saying, the message will be clear. As per most analysts, BJP's defeat will be almost self-inflicted. "The party sacked BS Yeddyurappa and installed a dummy (read Basavaraj Bommai). The election was lost two years ago," an analyst said.
But most others are of the view that inflation is the reason why BJP may have done poorly in the election. "LGP gas cylinder price has been a headache for the poor. Food inflation was high for almost a year. That's why SC and ST votes have increasingly gone to Congress party," a commentator opined.
The inflation argument seems rather weak. Critics are pointing out that Congress won in the 2013 Karnataka Assembly elections when inflation was higher than it was today. "At that time, UPA was at the Centre. It's not like voters blamed the state government (then led by BJP) for inflation and felt a change of guard will help in 2013. BJP won decisive mandates six months later in Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh the same year. In those two States, the ruling party was voted in," a Netizen pointed out.
