Letter to BS: Here are Karnataka Assembly elections prospects

The party which crosses the halfway mark is sure to regard the achievement as a popular endorsement of its policies and programmes and as a morale booster in the run-up to the 2019 general election

The election result in Karnataka assumes added political significance for the explicit reason that it will be construed as a gauge of the national mood and as a pointer to the 2019 general election. The three possibilities the declaration of election results can throw up are: the Congress will cross the halfway mark and form the government headed by Siddaramaiah (pictured); the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will get a simple majority and form the government headed by B S Yeddyurappa; and Janata Dal (Secular) will play the kingmaker extending support to either the Congress or the BJP in the event