The people of central Karnataka voted again on Friday in the second of the three phases of the Assembly polls, following which NDTV carried out an exclusive exit poll.

As per the exit poll, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has maintained its lead in Karnataka by gaining in phase two of the election as well.

The saffron party is slated to get somewhere between 32 to 42 seats with a swing of three per cent in its favour.

However, the poll suggests that rival Congress will get 15 to 20 seats, thereby, getting a negative swing of one per cent.

The Janata Dal - Secular is facing a negative swing of two per cent and is slated to clinch somewhere between eight to 12 seats whereas, others are expected get two to four seats.

The central Karnataka region where the polling was held is partially Lingayat region where the Bharatiya Janata Party is strong and partially scheduled caste and scheduled tribe, where the Congress is strong.

This is the region where Deve Gowda is traditionally the weakest of the three.

This phase has locked the fate of 589 candidates including the BJP chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa.