Panaji: Even as majority of the exit polls gave BJP the edge, with some even predicting a majority for the party in the 40-member Goa Assembly, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant appears to be more circumspect in his prediction of a likely post-poll scenario.
While the BJP had gone into the elections with its slogan ’22 plus in 2022′, Sawant said that even if the party is stuck at 17-18 seats, it would seek help from Independent MLAs to form government.
“If we are stuck at 17-18, then I feel three to four seats will be won by Independents. Independents tend to support those who are in majority. I am confident of forming the government with Independents,” Sawant said on Monday, a day when several exit polls predicted a good showing by the BJP.
The ABP C-Voter Exit Poll has predicted between 13 and 17 seats for the BJP, and between 12 and 16 seats for the Congress. The AAP is projected to win 1-5 seats.
The India Ahead-ETG poll has predicted a near majority for the BJP with 20-22 seats, while the Congress and AAP are expected to get between 7-9 and 6-8 seats, respectively.
According to the Republic-P Marq survey, the BJP is expected to win between 16 and 20 seats, the Congress 9-13 seats, the AAP between 4 and 8 seats while others expected to win between 1 and 5 seats.
NewsX-Polstrat has also pegged 20-22 seats for the BJP, between 4 and 6 seats for the Congress, 5-7 for AAP and Independents bringing up the rear with 7-9 seats.
The Times Now-VETO poll has slotted between 17 and 21 seats for the BJP, 4-6 for the Congress, between 8 and 11 for AAP and between 3 and 5 seats for others.
The India News-Jan Ki Baat survey has also predicted 18-22 seats for BJP, 5-6 for Congress, 7-9 for AAP and between 5 and 8 for others.
The India Today-Axis poll, however, has estimated that the Congress would win between 15 and 20 seats, while the BJP would win between 14 and 18 seats, with the Trinamool Congress-Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party alliance winning between 2 and 5 seats and others 0-4 seats.