BJP is the boss: Karnataka gets soaked in saffron?

Most of the exit polls predicted a hung Assembly in the state. However, on Tuesday, the early election result trends clearly showed that the BJP will form the next government in the state.

Bengaluru, May 15: It looks like Karnataka is playing Holi (the festival of colours) once again within a period of a few months and the southern state is all soaked in saffron. Thanks to the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) likely win in Karnataka, saffron, the colour associated with the right-wing party, is glowing bright across the state.

Most of the exit polls predicted a hung Assembly in the state. However, on Tuesday, the early election result trends clearly showed that the BJP will form the next government in the state. While filing this report, the BJP was leading in 119 seats out of 222 for which the voting took place on Saturday. The Karnataka Assembly has a total of 224 seats and a party or an alliance needs at least 113 seats to form the government.

Political experts opine that the trend is unlikely to change much and the BJP will easily win at least 105 seats. If the party fails to reach the 113 mark on its own, the Janata Dal (Secular) is likely to join hands with the saffron party.

The incumbent Congress is staring at a major blow in Karnataka as result trends show that party is leading in only 60 seats. Even incumbent chief minister Siddaramaiah of the Congress is leading in Badami but trailing in Chamundeshwari as counting of votes is underway. The incumbent CM is contesting elections from two seats.

As the result trends suggested, the BJP is likely to win in all the main regions--the south, the north and the coastal--of the state. If the BJP forms the next government in the state, it will be its second government in Karnataka after 2008. In 2013, the Congress won the elections as the BJP was hit hard by several controversies including corruption allegations against its top brass.

The BJP has already started celebrating in Karnataka and other parts of the country as the result trends are in its favour. The BJP workers are giving Prime Minister Narendra Modi the credit for the party's likely victory in Karnataka. PM Modi extensively campaigned in the state before the elections which took place on Saturday.

Experts say Modi wave worked well in Karnataka. Congress president Rahul Gandhi too vigorously campaigned in Karnataka, but it seems it did not work in favour of the grand old party.

The Karnataka election is dubbed as a curtain raiser before the all-important 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Political analysts say that the party which will win Karnataka will have an edge in the 2019 elections. For the time being, it looks like the victory chariot of the BJP is not going to stop any time soon.