Karnataka polls: Siddaramaiah confident, BS Yeddyurappa mum

Mysuru/Bengaluru: As voting ended at 7 pm on an action-packed Saturday, replete with EVMs malfunctioning and shocked and upset voters of upmarket RR Nagar in the IT capital protesting at the last minute cancellation of voting, state chief minister Siddaramaiah was back in his hometown of Mysuru where, exuding confidence, he said that the Congress would come back to power with a clear majority, as he scoffed at exit polls that predicted a hung Assembly.

“I will win in Chamundeswari, Badami and all our candidates in Mysuru district will win. If I have fear I will have tension, when I don’t have fear, where is the room for tension?”, the sunburnt chief minister said, adding he was going to relax for the next two days.

The chief minister’s confidence stemmed from the unusually high 70 per cent voter turnout, recorded in the high-stakes Karnataka Assembly polls Saturday. The last Assembly election in the southern state in 2013 had witnessed 71.4 per cent polling, the poll panel said. The rural voters outnumbered their urban counterparts in exercising their franchise.

Speaking to media, the feisty CM dismissed claims by the BJP chief B.S. Yeddyurappa that the BJP leader would be sworn in as CM saying, “Yeddyurappa is delusional, he is dreaming”.

Mr Siddaramaiah said, “Some of those surveys indicate that BJP will get majority. But in six to seven districts in old Mysuru region there is a fight between JD (S) and Congress, not  the BJP. Except for KR Constituency in Mysuru district, where is the BJP in 10 other constituencies? Where is BJP in Mandya, in Hassan, in Ramanagara, Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Bengaluru rural? There is no fight at all between them and us in Old Mysuru region, except for three constituencies including Hanur, Gundlupet and Chamarajnagar town in Chamarajnagar district. BSP is strong in Kollegal. How can they get so many seats? Yeddyurappa has to grind machine at his house for Mission 150,” he said. Chamundeshwari regsistered a 75.52% voting and Varuna was 78.59pc.

The pro-Siddaramaiah trend which went against popular perception that his JD(S) rival G.T. Deve Gowda would defeat him was visible in Varuna where 80-year-old Basavegowda, who had limped all the way from Kadvekattehundi to vote for chief minister Siddaramaiah at booth number 84 in Siddaramanahundi in Varuna constituency on Saturday.

“Maganige vote haakak bande” (I have come to vote for my son”) said the octogenarian.

In coastal Karnataka which registered a huge voter turnout, the increase in polling percent has upped hopes of BJP of winning more than two seats in the coastal districts. However, Congress leaders too were not disheartened and claim that an increase in voting percentage would help them as their traditional voters — minorities have come out in large numbers. Udupi district registered 78.87 per cent turnout and Dakshina Kannada registered 77.63 per cent as against 76.15 percent and 74.48 per cent respectively in 2013.

Opposition leader B.S, Yeddyurappa, meanwhile, was unreachable after some reports emerged that he was upset over exit polls that showed the BJP may have to strike a deal with the JD(S). However, BJP leaders in the capital said they were confident they would cross halfway-mark in the Karnataka Assembly, which has a strength of 224.

The party’s  confidence was boosted after Today’s Chanakya gave 120 seats to BJP with party leaders saying that Chanakya surveys had been accurate in recent UP elections.

Party senior leader and former deputy chief minister R. Ashok said that BJP will come back to power with a clear majority. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign had helped BJP to reach halfway mark,” he added.

However, the party leadership was disappointed with the low turnout in Bengaluru, since the party was hoping to get 21 out of 28 seats. Sources said BJP is confident that they will sweep coastal Karnataka and Mumbai-Karnataka.