In poll bound Karnataka, bookies bet on Rs 800 crore as odds are stacked in BJP’s favour

It is election time and the bookies are back in business. What are the bookies giving each party contesting the Karnataka assembly elections? The betting market in Karnataka is approximately around Rs 800 crore.

The betting markets have witnessed several twists and turns. The odds dropped by around 95 paise after several opinion polls suggested that there would be a hung house in Karnataka.

The odds initially were stacked in favour of the BJP with bookies offering 11 to 10 for BJP. This meant that for every Rs 10 a stake of Rs 11 was offered in case the BJP won 113 seats.

The party has been favoured second is the Congress and the odds are at 2.5 is to 1. In the case of the JD(S), the odds are at 6 is to 1. Many bookies are of the view that the BJP would emerge as the single largest party in the state. This runs contrary to what the opinion polls have said in which the odds were stacked in favour of the Congress to emerge as the single largest party.