Congress's Siddaramaiah voters' choice for next Karnataka CM

As all parties gear up to contest the crucial Karnataka Assembly elections, ABP News C Voter Survey conducted a snap poll to learn about the top choice for the Chief Minister's post by peering into the minds of various castes. In the survey, leader of opposition Siddaramaiah emerged as the clear favourite for the position of Chief Minister.

According to the poll, 39.1 percent respondents want Congress' Siddaramaiah as their CM, while 31.1 percent still wanted Basavaraj Bommai.

While 21.4 per cent of Brahmins consider HD Kumaraswamy worthy of the post only 3.2 per cent chose DK Shivakumar, the Congress state president, as their preferred CM face.

A majority of voters predicted a clear win for the Congress party. As per the poll, Congress will win 115 to 127 seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will get 68 to 80 seats, and the Janata Dal (Secular) will get 23 to 35 seats.

How has BJP's government been rated?

Talking about the BJP government performace, 50.5 per cent of respondents said it was 'poor,' while only 27.7 per cent respondents said that it was 'good.'

Moreover, 57.1 per cent respondents seemed "angry with the state government led by BJP" and want to change it.

Nearly 46.9 per cent respondants are not happy with Basavaraj Bommai performance while only 26.8 per cent rated it 'good.'

Which are the main issues in this election?

As per the opinion poll, 29.1 per cent respondents feel unemployment is the biggest issue while 21.5 per cent think electricity, water, and roads as major concern.

Nealy 30.8 respondents said that "issues like minority status for Lingayats and the hijab controversy" will play a crucial role in Karnataka election. 24.6 percent think that "religious polarisation" will significantly affect the upcoming Assembly elections.

Assembly elections in Karnataka will be held in a single phase on May 10 setting the stage for yet another showdown between the ruling BJP and the Congress ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the JD(S) facing its toughest challenge in the southern state.

As the political temperature in Karnataka hots up on a range of issues, the BJP hopes to buck a nearly four-decade-old trend to retain power and script history while the Congress will seek to upstage its saffron rival to up its stakes as a key challenger. No political party has won a successive mandate in the state since 1985 and the BJP is eager to rewrite this bit of history and retain its southern citadel.