Exit polls 2019: BJP expected to sweep Karnataka with 19 seats to Congress-JD(S)'s 8

Each and every exit poll prediction released on Sunday night on the 2019 Lok Sabha election has predicted a massive sweep for the BJP in Karnataka. The result came as a shock to many, who weren't expecting the BJP to fare well in the face of a pre-poll alliance between the Congress and the JD(S).

The lowest score predicted for the BJP in Karnataka's 28 seats was 17 by the CNX exit poll. That is still a whopping 60 percent of the seats. The average predicted tally across six exit polls was a minimum of 19 seats for the BJP, compared to about 8 seats for the Congress-JD(S) alliance.

READ ALSO: Modi 2.0 on May 23 predict Exit Polls

The biggest score for the BJP was the MyAxis exit poll, which gave BJP 21-25, Congress-JD(S) 3-6 and 1 for 'others'.

Of the six exit poll predictions that were taken into account for the calculation, four of them predicted one seat win for 'others'. That 'other' is presumably Sumalatha Ambareesh, who is contesting as an independent in the Mandya constituency. She is the wife of late Kannada film giant Ambareesh, who won the constituency thrice. Sumalatha has the backing of the BJP, which has not fielded a candidate in Mandya. She has taken on Nikhil Kumaraswamy, the son of Karnataka Chief Minister and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy.

The expectation was the BJP would underperform in Karnataka. That expectation was premised on the results of the 2018 Karnataka Assembly election, where it emerged the largest party but fell just short of the halfway mark. The BJP won 104 seats in the 224-seat Assembly.

The Congress and JD(S) had fought the Assembly election separately, and had stitched together their alliance to deny the BJP control over yet another state government. However, the Congress-JD(S) coalition had left many Congress workers fuming over the fact that despite winning 80 seats, the party let Kumaraswamy become Chief Minister, considering the JD(S) won just 37 seats.

There had been dissent within the alliance, with Congress leaders in some places openly declaring that they wouldn't work to ensure the victory of JD(S) candidates.