BENGALURU: As the state prepares for assembly elections next year, a pre-poll survey conducted by C fore on the prospects of the three big parties in Karnataka gave Congress the edge, predicting the ruling party will bag 120-132 of the 224 seats. The present strength of Congress in the assembly is 122.The survey, conducted between July 19 and August 10, says BJP, which now has 44 members, will get 60 to 72 seats. JD(S), which currently has 32 seats, is likely to secure 24 to 30 seats, while Independents are likely to win one-to-six seats, it adds.An "unhappy" BJP spokesperson S Suresh Kumar commented that the release of this "paid" survey, its timing and reasons, is very suspicious. "CM Siddaramaiah said, "BJP, afraid of getting dismal numbers, is talking of Congress having sponsored the survey. We don't have any link with the survey, it was conducted by a private agency."

Source: Times of India August 21, 2017 21:09 UTC