Will Gruha Jyothi, Anna Bhagya Schemes Help Congress Win More LS Seats? Here's What Survey Says

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has recently claimed that the Congress will certainly win 15-20 seats in the state.

The grand old party had registered a thumping victory in the May Assembly polls in the state where it bagged 135 seats, reducing BJP and JDS to 66 and 19, respectively.

As per the poll pundits, it secured a big victory due to five promises: 'Gruha Jyothi' - to provide 200 units electricity free to every household; 'Gruha Lakshmi' - to grant Rs 2,000 to every woman head of a family; 'Anna Bhagya' - to distribute 10 kg rice to every member of BPL families every month; 'Yuva Nidhi' - to sanction Rs 3,000 dole to unemployed graduates and Rs 1,500 to unemployed diploma holders for two years (in the 18-25 age-group); and 'Shakti' - to enable free travel for women across Karnataka in state buses.

Well, can the schemes help the Congress to win more seats in next Lok Sabha polls?

The grand old party was reduced to just one seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha. This was its worst-ever performance in recent decades. However, the five guarantees are unlikely to make a big difference for the Congress if the elections are held today, as per the India TV and CNX Opinion poll.

Although the survey did not mention the impact of the Congress' schemes, the opinion poll indicates that the voters have more faith in the BJP government in the Centre than the Congress.

As per the pollster, the NDA is expected to win 20 seats. Even though it has five lesser than five seats, the numbers are still better than its 2014 performance where the saffron party had won 17 seats.

The Congress is predicted to win 7 seats in the next Lok Sabha polls.

Meanwhile, the JDS has visibly shown interest in having closer ties with the BJP and this could be a game changer.