Fact Check: BBC survey predicted clear majority for BJP in Karnataka?

There are surveys galore ahead of the Assembly elections in Karnataka. The state votes on the 10th of May and the results will be out on May 13.

Amidst this, a survey has gone viral with the claim that the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has predicted that the BJP would win the elections in the state. The viral claim says that the BJP will win over 140 seats the poll bound state of Karnataka. It says that the BJP is likely to win 130-142 seats, while the Congress would end up with 58-66 seats. The JD(S) on the other hand will end up 22-29 seats, the viral claim while citing a BBC survey says.

We first searched for 'Karnataka' on the BBCScreenshot 2023-04-27 at 9.43.50 AM.png Hindi page (https://www.bbc.com/hindi/topics/c340qr11vwyt) and found that no such survey had been conducted. OneIndia also checked the social media handles of the BBC as well as their India website. Had such a survey been carried out, it would have been available on these platforms.

We however found a tweet by the BBC from 2018, when a similar such claim was made. "A fake survey on Karnataka polls has been circulating on Whats App and claims to be from BBC News. We'd like to make absolutely clear that it's a #fake and does not come from the BBC. The BBC does not commission pre-election surveys in India," BBC had said at that time.

While there are many surveys that have been released ahead of the hotly contested battle in Karnataka, it is amply clear that the BBC has not conducted any such survey.