Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Monday linked the BJP’s claim of winning over 400 seats to an internal survey that predicted less than 200 seats for the party in the Lok Sabha polls.

Although he did not reveal his source, Siddaramaiah termed the repeated claim by BJP leaders of winning 400-plus seats as a strategy.

“They have conducted an internal survey, which gave them less than 200 seats. That’s why they keep saying they would win 400 seats, which is part of their strategy,” he told reporters in Mysuru.

While he was reluctant to guess how many seats the Congress would win nationally, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence in bagging 20 of the 28 seats in Karnataka.

“I can’t say how many we will win (nationally). But I am confident of winning 20 seats in Karnataka,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set “Iss baar chaar sau paar” as the party’s campaign slogan, aiming to cross the 400 mark in the Lok Sabha. Uttara Kannada MP Ananth Kumar Hegde had in March caused an outcry by bragging that the Prime Minister had sought so many seats to ensure a two-thirds majority in both Houses of Parliament to amend the Constitution.

The Congress has since coined “Save the Constitution” as one of its key poll planks.

The BJP has denied a ticket to Hegde, a six-time MP.