Game on: How are the bookies betting ahead of the Karnataka elections

With the elections nearing the betting market too has been on overdrive mode.

In the 2018 elections, the betting market or the 'satta bazaar' had predicted that there would be a hung house. The bookies had said that the BJP which had won just 40 seats in 2013 would end up doubling its share and to a large extent they were right as Karnataka threw up a hung house.

In Karnataka there are 224 seats up for grabs and to form a government a party needs 113 seats.

The illegal betting market has very often been spot on and had even in 2017 predicted that the BJP's seats would fall in Gujarat. However the predictions in the 2018 Karnataka elections were right to a certain extent when the bookies said that the verdict would be hung. While the 'satta bazaar' predicted a hung assembly, it however said that the JD(S) would win 20 seats and go with the BJP and form the government. That however did not take place and it was the JD(S) and Congress which formed the government, before it toppled and the BJP took over.

The betting pattern in Karnataka this time has however been different. The betting market continues to predict a hung assembly in the state. The bets are on whether the BJP would get 110 seats or not. The other popular bet is if the Congress will cross 100 seats in the state.

In case of the BJP, the bookies are asking if the Janata Dal (S) would get 30 seats or more. Furthermore, there are also bets on if JD(S) supremo, H D Kumaraswamy would end up playing kingmaker or not. Interestingly, the most valued bet is on the Aam Aadmi Party. The bet is on whether the AAP would end up with 1-5 seats. There is even a bet if the AAP would win one seat or not.

The police say that there are some pockets in the city where the betting is high and heavy. They say that they are keeping a close watch on these areas. The practise if illegal and action would be taken on them, the police also said.

Betting is not just restricted to Bengaluru city alone. The villages of the state too are betting on the Karnataka Assembly elections. Recently a farmer from Varuna said that he would bet his two acre land if Siddaramaiah does not win the elections. While in Bengaluru the dealing is in cash, in the villages, people are betting on their houses, live stock to predict who would win the elections.

However, not always does this 'satta bazaar' goes right. In the 2018 elections, it had predicted 8- seats for the BJP and 85 for the Congress. The BJP however ended up with 104 seats and the Congress, 80.