"You cannot be swayed by exit polls: they go wrong more often than not," former Union Minister Veerappa Moily told The Telegraph. Asked about the possibility of a tie-up with the JDS, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said in Delhi: "That situation will not arise." The JDS had an alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party for the Karnataka polls, and Mayawati will not be comfortable if Deve Gowda joins hands with the BJP. "If we are almost there, say, with more than 100 seats (the majority mark being 113), the JDS cannot afford to install a BJP-led government," a Congress insider said. Congress sources laughed off the suggestion that a defeat in Karnataka would hang a question mark over Rahul Gandhi's leadership.

Source: The Telegraph May 13, 2018 21:33 UTC