Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has expressed confidence the ruling BJP will retain power with an absolute majority, dismissing exit poll predictions that indicated a close race between the Congress and the BJP, with the regional Janata Dal (Secular), or JD(S), possibly getting to play kingmaker in the event of a hung house. Most of the exit polls, however, gave a slight edge to the Congress.

“Our information on the ground is very clear. We will get hundred percent majority, comfortable majority,” Mr Bommai told reporters today after voting ended in Karnataka. The voter turnout was 72 per cent, a high figure compared to past trends.

“Exit polls are exit polls. They cannot be hundred percent correct. There will be plus or minus 5 per cent in all exit polls. That can change the whole scenario,” Mr Bommai said.

On a question whether the Congress will benefit from high voter turnout, Mr Bommai said it is the other way round.

“Always, if you go by the track record, the more number of voters turn up, it is always better for the BJP, not the Congress. This shows that many people who otherwise do not vote, especially in urban areas, have come and voted. That is a positive sign for the BJP,” he told reporters.

He denied speculation of backchannel talks with the JD(S) in case of a hung house. “There is no question of hung (assembly). We will get absolute majority,” Mr Bommai said, adding any talk about “resort politics” is a “figment of your imagination.”

The India Today-Axis My India exit poll predicted a clear majority for the Congress with 122-140 seats in the 224-member assembly, and gave the BJP 62-80 seats.

News 24-Today’s Chanakya forecast a majority for the Congress with 120 seats as against 92 for the BJP and 12 for the JD(S).