Assembly Election Results 2017 Counting LIVE: Akhilesh Yadav quits as chief minister, submits resignation

Party? What party? Where is the party?

All this talk of this party, that party is really giving me an appetite. Pity it had to be a dry day. I think I will pick up some good stuff from the Congress headquarters at the Chowk. And have it on the rocks!

I like to see myself as the Queen. And though some might point to today and say monarchs don’t often fare well in a democracy, I would like to believe some day I will win. And that’s the day I will sing this.

Our fight continues and will not end till we win the hearts & minds of people

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 11, 2017

To all Congress workers across India: We stand resolute & committed to our values & our belief in an India united in strength & purpose

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 11, 2017

My heartiest congratulations to Capt Amarinder Singhji & all our party workers who worked tirelessly @capt_amarinder

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 11, 2017

I thank everyone in Punjab for their immense faith and support. This is a mandate for a brighter future for Punjab and it's youth

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 11, 2017

I congratulate Shri. Narendra Modi and the BJP on their victory in Uttar Pradesh & Uttarakhand

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 11, 2017

Feni is getting upset

This is starting to get tension men. It’s Saturday and Feni got big plans. That bugger Peter from Porvorim has party at his place and all the chicks are gonna be there men. But bleddy if counting doesn’t end, how will Feni go for party? Must tell these idiots to hurry up.

You can get votes by misleading, not by explaining, says Akhilesh Yadav

“Alliance with Congress will continue. Alliance was in our favour. You can get votes by misleading, not by explaining,” says outgoing Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

BJP winning will make Rahul Gandhi sad

Rahul Gandhi has refused to address the media all day, and it is nigh impossible to truly know what he is feeling at the moment. But my highly placed sources tell me the Congress vice-president is not ecstatic about BJP winning. The sources, who are hardcore analysts with an ear to the ground, have also said BJP’s win could possibly result in Congress losing. How true these are, one may never know.

Every moment of our time, everything we do is for welfare & wellbeing of the people of India. We believe in the power of 125 crore Indians.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 11, 2017

Congratulations to @AmitShah, party office bearers & state units for their exemplary work in taking the party to new heights.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 11, 2017

I salute the hardwork of BJP Karyakartas. They have tirelessly worked hard at the grassroots level & won the confidence of the people.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 11, 2017

Am overjoyed that BJP has received unprecedented support from all sections of society. Huge support from the youth is gladdening.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 11, 2017

I thank people of Punjab for giving @Akali_Dal_ & @BJP4Punjab the opportunity to serve for 10 years & for the support we got in these polls.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 11, 2017

उत्तराखंड की जीत बेहद खास है। देवभूमि के लोगों का आभार। मैं विश्वास दिलाता हूं कि भाजपा पूरी तत्परता और कमर्ठता से लोगों की सेवा करेगी।

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 11, 2017

काशी के सांसद के रूप में काशी की जनता का अटूट विश्वास और अपार प्रेम पाकर मैं आज अभिभूत हूं। काशी के लोगों को शत-शत नमन।

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 11, 2017

मैं उत्तर प्रदेश की जनता को हृदय से धन्यवाद देता हूं। भाजपा की ये ऐतिहासिक जीत विकास और सुशासन की जीत है।

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 11, 2017

Gratitude to the people of India for the continued faith, support and affection for the BJP. This is very humbling & overwhelming.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 11, 2017

Spoke to @capt_amarinder & congratulated him on the win in Punjab. Also wished him a happy birthday & prayed for his long & healthy life.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 11, 2017

Accept defeat in Punjab: Shah

“We accept defeat in Punjab. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already congratulated Captain Amarinder Singh,” says Amit Shah.

Counting is tough bizness bugger

What men you talk like you can count like Einstein bugger. Bleddy nobody could count anything in school. Half the idiots failed Maths in school men. And dis is fancy EVM, that bugger Elroy can’t even switch on his mobile phone. What he will count.

BJP workers to accord grand welcome to Modi on Sunday

“BJP workers have organised a grand welcome for Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow at the BJP national headquarters. The question of leadership in the fours states would be finalised in a meeting on Sunday. Won’t have CMs based on caste, performance will matter,” says BJP national president Amit Shah.

Can’t they count faster?

Incoming chief ministers of most states have already moved into their new bungalows, but Manipur is still waiting for counting to end. Why is counting of votes taking so much time?

Amit Shah refuses to comment on Mayawati’s allegations on EVMs

“I can understand the mental condition of Mayawati. I would not like to comment on her comments on EVMs,” says Shah.

Uttar Pradesh now embarks on a double-digit growth path, says Shah

“There was always the belief that India cannot have a double-digit growth until Uttar Pradesh embarks on a double-digit growth. Now the results have paved the way for a double-digit growth in Uttar Pradesh,” said Shah.

What happened to the SAD-BJP in Punjab? This:

Historic mandate for the BJP: Amit Shah

“This is a historic mandate for the BJP. It is a victory of the people, victory of the leadership of Narendra Modi. This is the result of the more than 93 schemes for the downtrodden at the grassroots level. The results have shown a complete faith of the people in Modi’s leadership,” BJP national president Amit Shah said in his address to the press at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi.

Rawat to tender his resignation

They tell me Chief Minister Harish Rawat will tender his resignation now. Which is ironic, because the elections have been brutal on him. Tender and brutal are opposites.

Irom Sharmila’s done with this election business

If elections constitute the so-called ‘dance of democracy’, a clearly dejected PRJA founder Sharmila says she’s never gonna dance again. I understand.

Here’s why Mayawati’s loss is significant

– She has been out of power for 10 years and will now be out for the next five years; this will raise questions about her political future.

– The defeat may create further divisions in her loyal Dalit base, with non-Jatav’s already gravitating towards the BJP.

– This is the first time in many years that neither her party will neither be in power nor be the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly.

– Power is glue. Five more years out of power could dishearten and demoralise the cadres. The party may a witness exodus.

– At 61, age too isn’t on her side. An absence of 15 years is too long in politics to mount a comeback.

– There’s no succession plan in place and no one in the BSP has been nurtured to take her place.

Cometh the hour…

There’s very little happening in Uttarakhand, but my phone is ringing off the hook.

You know what they say, even a small man casts a massive shadow.

Cashless? Paperless? No thanks, says Mayawati

While the world is going digital, paperless, cashless, BSP supremo Mayawati wants EVMs done away with and ballot papers to be reintroduced for elections. 

No, really.

Facts of life

The BJP candidate from Karong constituency R Yuh Jonathan Tao is a lot of things. But there’s one thing he isn’t. And that’s this:

Tampering with EVMs in Uttar Pradesh?

BSP supremo Mayawati is claiming that the election was rigged because EVMs had been tampered with. Regardless of the button pressed by the voter, Mayawati claims that the machine would count it as a vote for the BJP.

Goa setting new standards

Feni was about to nicely have a nap, when that Elroy came back. Ringing bells loudly and all. Feni aksed him why he’s such a stupid fellow. Elroy said he went to a counting centre and this is how fast it was going. Shameless b*ggers.

Punjab CM ready to resign

Parkash Singh Badal is going to resign tomorrow. It reminds me of the time I resigned from my old job after throwing a stone through the shopfront window. Okay, so there was some broken glass, some injury-shinjury etc. But I resigned. I did the right thing.

Is it Vijay Bahuguna? Is it Roose Bolton? Is it Brutus?

Remember the Red Wedding when Roose Bolton betrayed the Starks, pretending to be their friend but actually wiped out their entire family? Vijay Bahuguna is the Bolton of Uttarakhand. He led Harish Rawat to believe he’s a friend before turning his back on the Congress party and escaping in the middle of the night with 10 MLAs.

One can only hope he knows what happened to Papa Roose later in the story.

What this means for the Rajya Sabha

The way things are going, the BJP will at least have 34 (31 for Uttar Pradesh and three for Uttarakhand) more Rajya Sabha seats, which will give it a lot more heft in the Rajya Sabha

Enough is enough

This counting is going nowhere. The leads have been the same for what feels like many hours. Feni needs his nap. You watch this.

A word of warning to political parties: Take Congress as a partner at your own peril

Let’s look at the poll trends objectively.

The Congress is not the biggest loser in this round of elections. It is winning in Punjab; it is likely to have the upper hand in the smaller states of Goa and Manipur. If the final results follow the trend, it can look at its performance with some satisfaction. In Uttar Pradesh, it was already a marginal player. The only challenge for it was to win a few seats more than the 28 it had earlier. But that’s not the whole story.

The party may run out of friends soon. The Congress is earning quite a negative reputation as an electoral ally. Whoever takes it on as a partner, loses the election badly. In West Bengal, it teamed up with the Left. The result was disastrous for the latter while the Congress itself managed a respectable performance with around 40 seats. Akhilesh’s poor show in this election reveals again that Congress votes hardly get transferred to its allies.

It does not help the party that it has a poor leader in Rahul Gandhi, who is also the party’s star campaigner. He cannot convince Congress sympathisers to vote tactically. The point of interest here is, after dying slowly in states, it is pulling down other non-BJP parties too. The Samajwadi Party may take a while to recover from the blow it received. It won’t be a surprise if no party shows any interest in a pre-poll tie-up with the Congress. From the next election onward it will have to go it alone. Aln aliance, if any, will be a post-poll affair.

Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu would like to believe that the party’s revival will begin in Punjab. There’s little point getting into his remark at this point, but the fact remains that it will be a lonely trudge back for the party. It will have no regional parties to fall back on. A decent performance in this round of election thus does not mean much. A lot of hard work lies ahead.

Let the celebrations begin

Narendra Modi will address BJP workers at the party’s Delhi headquarters at 4 pm.

How the BJP pulled off a win that will change contours of national politics

What appeared to have got the goat of BJP strategists was the realisation through internal surveys that the alliance may have been able to swing over 90 percent of Muslim voters in its favour — given the fact that a slight deviation in percentage points of voters would make a substantial change in terms of seats. Of course, the Samajwadi Party was seen sitting pretty with 30 percent of the Muslim-Yadav (MY) combination.

And there was a fear that if a section of traditional Congress voters could transfer their votes to the Samajwadi Party, its kitty would go high. Thus began the BJP’s counter moves that proved to be quite effectively in checkmating Samajwadi Party-Congress politics.

Chin2Leaks Introspection Intercept

Uttarakhand chief minister loses

Chief Minister Harish Rawat loses from Haridwar, capping off a pretty poor day for the Congress

Goa CM Laxmikant Parsekar has lost the Mandrem seat

Laxmikant Parsekar was defeated by Congress’ Dayanand Sopte — once a close confidant of Parsekar. Sopte had defected from the BJP and was rewarded with nomination by the Congress. Sopte has won by a margin of 3,500 votes.

Afspa issue hijacked by Congress and BJP

The dismal defeat of Irom  Sharmila in Manipur Assembly election with only 90 votes in her hand marks the reality that the issue of repealing Afspa is hijacked by both the national parties Indian National Congress and Bharatiya Janata party.

Irom Sharmila’s defeat is seen in the light of both the national parties taking up the issue of Afspa with much importance in their manifestos.

When the iron lady took to elections with only 5 candidates renouncing her path of agitation against Afspa, her close associate Babloo Loitongbam said to Firstpost that it was not about the number of candidates that matters but the issue.

“One can see that after Irom Sharmila appeared in the poll fray other parties have also taken the issue seriously,” he said.

Irom Sharmila’s defeat  in the election marks the reality that the national parties hijacked the issue of repealing of Afspa.

Irom Sharmila brings the noise… slightly

As it turns out, we were wrong. Sharmila isn’t going out without a fight. She now has 90 votes and is in a strong position to break the 100 barrier. She’s bringing the noise alright.

A Rawat always pays his dues

And on the evidence of today’s performance, he’s paying through his nose.

Sometimes you don’t even need words

Maybe, Feni made an error

That Elroy fellow came back and aksed Feni, “Why you saying not hung Assembly, men? When it very clearly looks like hung Assembly.”

Funny thing happened. Don’t aks. Ok aks. But, distracted with all the news anchors jumping around, Feni was looking at Punjab numbers. It’s okay. Mistakes happen on a dry day.

Irom Sharmila’s final tally: 51 votes

Sadly, someone’s losing their deposit today.

Who could be the next Chief Minister of Uttarakhand?

Too fast too furious

All of this is wrapping up way too fast. Take Irom Sharmila’s brave battle against Chief Minister Ibobi Singh for instance. Is this just a small hurdle for PRJA or is it all over? Ruminate on that over this next track. And if you have any requests, drop them in the comments section.

AND KEEP IT LOUD! m/

No one knows anything

Now say ‘hung Assembly’, b*gger. Now say it. Since when Feni was aksing, “What hung Assembly?”, but no one listens only.

Omar Abdullah’s mic drop moment

In a nutshell there is no leader today with a pan India acceptability who can take on Modi & the BJP in 2019.

— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) March 11, 2017

A key question for Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand Congress units

Chin2Leaks Intercept 

Leaked memos from Sonia Gandhi and Mulayam Singh Yadav to their respective sons were identical. At least, that’s what I’m told.

Belief. Hope. Desire

PRJA’s Irom Sharmila has reportedly only picked up 26 votes in Thouba constituency. THAT AIN’T RIGHT! C’mon, Sharmila…

Happy wala birthday, Amarinder paaji

Stone-cold victory for Congress in Punjab means birthday party-sharty will be even better. Now where’s that invitation?

JUST IN: Congress to win Punjab
 
CNN-News18 calls Punjab in Congress’ favour, says Captain Amarinder Singh will be the next chief minister of the state.

UP surge or Upsurge for BJP?

I’m not sure if it was a typographical error or an intended pun, but it looks like the BJP is doing quite well in Uttar Pradesh.

One seat to go for Congress to take Punjab

On a dismal day for Congress, it looks like the one solid stone that the party has flung is in Punjab, where it is one seat away from taking the state away from the SAD-BJP.

Congress’ day is going from bad to worse

I spoke to some friends of mine in other states and the Congress is getting routed in Uttar Pradesh and apparently Uttarakhand too. With the BJP ahead in Manipur, there’s a real chance the Congress will be…

Acche din 2.0 for BJP?

Looking at the exit poll projected figures, this correspondent had touted demonetisation as the overarching poll narrative that has brought untold poll dividends for the Narendra Modi-led BJP. As the saffron unit’s lead touches the 200-mark in Uttar Pradesh, it is quite clear that Modi has once again captured popular imagination with ‘notebandi’ the way he had in 2014 with his call for ‘Acche Din’. Amit Shah’s backroom manouevres, putting up a candidates’ list sans a single Muslim candidate,

Jat discontent and the party’s internal rebellion have all been discussed ad nauseum. An hour into counting of votes show that BJP may well be heading for its biggest victory ever in Uttar Pradesh, eclipsing even its tally during the Kalyan Singh days. This is a staggering result for Modi and could be largely put down to demonetistion.

Congress surging ahead

There must be a stony silence at SAD-BJP HQ because the Congress is ahead in 41 seats, compared to AAP’s 20 and the SAD-BJP’s 15.

JUST IN: BJP to win Uttar Pradesh
 
CNN-News18 and India Today call Uttar Pradesh in BJP’s favour by a massive majority.

BJP to win Uttarakhand?

When counting took its own sweet time to get started, I decided to immerse myself in a book. As I discovered it was a very violent book. So I put it down. 

Then counting began and this trend emerged. A news channel called Utttarakhand for the BJP. Take a moment to spare a thought for Harish Rawat, because now his watch has ended.

JUST IN: BJP to win Uttarakhand

CNN-News18 calls Uttarakhand in BJP’s favour, with the party having crossed the halfway mark in the state.

Any joy for AAP today?

Yesterday only, Feni’s neighbour Elroy came and wanted to discuss something. Now what-and-all, don’t ask. But Feni aksed him a question. Feni aksed, “How big a victory will Goa be for AAP?” Elroy said, “Very Feni” and left.

Feni is still not cent-percent sure what he meant.

The North will rise again

Or something like that, because the early inertia has disappeared and counting is in full flow. The BJP is ahead in 21 seats and Congress in nine. Things are getting quite hectic now, which is good because they were slow earlier. And had that speed persisted, I wouldn’t be saying what I am now.

A long way to go

With one hour of counting out of the way, The Congress leads in five seats, BJP is ahead in three and the PRJA is yet to open its account. Oh well, there’s a long way to go and it’s a long way to the top….

Exit polls failed to predict Punjab trends… so far

One hour into counting, the trend is getting clearer. The Congress is doing better than what the exit polls suggested in Punjab. The Aam Aadmi Party has some catching up to do. Exit polls suggested a tie between the two. It appears voters in the state have decided not to leave things hanging and go the Congress way.

Bhagwant Mann entertained the masses alright, but did not fetch the votes for his party. But it is too early for a definite call. But exit polls are accurate on one suggestion: The SAD-BJP combine is doing badly.

What BJP’s dominance comes down to

Based on Narendra Modi’s performance over the past few years, one thing is clear. While there are many people in the country who might not buy into the ideology of Hindutva, there are many who actually will vote for Modi on the strength of his work.

BJP storms to massive lead in Uttar Pradesh

According to all news channels, BJP leads in at least 50 more seats than the SP-Congress alliance in Uttar Pradesh.

Clarification on Mayawati

I got a call from the Mumbai Firstpost office just now. True story. The caller asked me if BSP’s Mayawati has been absent through the entire process. I told him that she was there, you just didn’t see her. By not giving her the coverage it gave other parties, the media neglected to cover her campaign. Another true story.

A good start for the Congress in Manipur

Very first indication from Manipur should bring a smile in Congress lips as Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh of the Congress leads from Thoubal. Congress, which has been ceding its hold over North Eastern states, will be desperate to retain Manipur. The BJP, according to pollsters, is expected to give Congress a tough fight.

Always fashionable late

Full country started counting at 8 am, but in Goa — where 1,649 EVMs were used, counting started at 8.30. Feni likes to be fashionably late. Builds up suspense and all, no?

Who could be the next Chief Minister of Uttarakhand

Harish Rawat has constantly played the victim card in the run up to the election, highlighting the fact that the BJP government at the Centre ignored the state, and also tried to derail his government by triggering a constitutional crisis.

Vijay Bahuguna, the former Congress leader was the previous chief minister of the hill state, and the person most likely to become CM again if the BJP does secure a victory. 

BC Khanduri, the a two-time chief minister of Uttarakhand, ascending to the post for a two-year period immediately following BJP’s win in the 2007 Assembly election.

Ramesh Pokhriyal is another former chief minister of the BJP, who is contesting the polls this year and has hopes of ascending to the CM’s throne.

Ajay Bhatt has been state BJP president since the summer of last year, when nine Congress rebels joined the party. 

And suddenly more stones

Now AAP is ahead in 3 and Congress, SAD-BJP have leads in one seat each. This counting-shounting is finally picking up momentum. Good.

Congress draws first blood

He who casts the first stone… draws first blood. And the Congress is ahead in one seat.

All quiet on the northern front

It’s still 0-0-0-0 in Uttarakhand, but that’s okay. It’s really cold today

Sharmila trailing? No ******* way!

I don’t know if I should say this, but I’m sure a lot of people are thinking it.

Leads in Uttar Pradesh so far

The BJP is ahead in two seats, while the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance and BSP have leads in one apiece. That means the BJP has double the number of leads as the other two.

Small parties losing ground in Uttarakhand

Small parties are losing ground in the state.

SP is nonexistent while BSP’s seats have been continuously decreasing.

The state’s only regional party UKD seems nowhere in fray. Even exit polls have discarded it’s prospective.

Uttar Pradesh leaders on counting day are like children waiting for marks

How do political parties and candidates feel early on a counting day? It could be a bit like school kids waiting for their annual marks – anxious, jittery and full of prayers. The exit polls don’t exactly present a clear picture. But as is the case with school kids, the nature of anticipation would be different for different categories of students.

So, Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be as anxious as a bright student expecting to come first and Akhilesh Yadav would be looking for good results because he believed he worked hard. Mayawati is that kind of a student who can spring a surprise on any one. As for Rahul Gandhi, well, let’s keep mum on that. It takes all to make the world.

BJP predicted to make big gains in Uttar Pradesh

This has been predicted by a number of exit polls and could likely be the result, but to me personally, the phrase ’lotus is blooming all over the state’ is mildly obscene. I think the CBFC should look into it.

Playing safe 

Exit polls that believe in giving a hung scenario are playing it safe. In the case of Uttar Pradesh, the two exit polls that predict a clear result are more accurate because the results will be equally clear. This is the problem of the exit polls, not the people. A hung Assembly is highly unlikely.

Narendra Modi’s first big test since demonetisation  

This is the day that’ll give us clarity on whether Narendra Modi’s political capital gained or lost on account of his disruptive policy — the demonetisation of Rs 500, Rs 1,000 notes on 8 November last year. The trends seen in various surveys and certain civic poll results give us a sense that the prime minister continues to enjoy the ground support of people despite heavy criticism from many economists and political rivals on the note ban move.

But, all of this still left room for counter arguments as well, since those outcomes did not, conclusively, offer clarity on whether demonetisation benefited the BJP, although they indeed told us that it didn’t harm the party so far. Hence, arguably, the first major test Modi will face on the note ban will be in state polls, where the public mandate will be out today.

If the mighty Modi wave, started in 2014, is still intact and brings a landslide victory for his party in crucial states, mainly Uttar Pradesh, then these numbers will silence his rivals, who have been projecting the ‘disastrous effects’ of demonetisation on all walks of life and larger economy. The flaws in the way the note ban was implemented, prompted even former prime minister Manmohan Singh, to use phrases such as ‘mammoth tragedy’ and ‘organised loot, legalised plunder’ to describe Modi’s move. 

Almost all of his political rivals used demonetisation as a tool to attack Modi since the day it was announced. Let’s remember that demonetisation, besides being a bold, unprecedented economic policy, also carried significant weight as a big political move in Modi’s term. For the Modi government, this was also a political necessity to show the world that its stated focus on black money holders — one of its major poll promises in 2014 — hasn’t faded over time. Will Modi pass his first big demonetisation test? Exit polls indicate he will, but let’s wait for the numbers to speak.

Counting begins

Buckle up, there’s numbers — and lots of them — ahead.

ARE YOU READY TO DO THIS, MANIPUR?

It may not be two minutes to midnight, but it’s two minutes till counting begins.

Hung Assembly?

Look, Feni knows hungover and hung-out-to-dry (like today when all the wine shops and bars are closed). All like these, this hung Assembly business makes Feni angry. It’s like Dempo versus Salgaocar ending in a 1-1 draw.

The key question

Whether it will be a hung Assembly or clear BJP majority is the biggest question right now

Now here’s a look at unemployment rates across the five states

A quick comparison of literacy rates across all five states 

Irom Sharmila ahead of counting of votes

“I do not feel much affected by the result. It depends upon the people’s mindset. I don’t feel much affected by it, because people can still change their minds and everybody knows muscle and money power is being openly used by parties,” Irom Sharmila told ANI.

Muscle, money power openly used by parties: Irom Sharmila https://t.co/d91oCpXEtZ Read @ANI_news story #Manipur pic.twitter.com/gdQ1KJMv3h

— ANI Digital (@ani_digital) March 11, 2017

Low voter turnout in Uttarakhand’s hilly areas

It’s believed that the low voter turnout in the hilly areas will affect the results. But you can’t blame those folks. It’s very cold. Getting out takes effort and time.

And we’re live…

Don’t miss Firstpost Decode for cutting-edge analysis and insight. 

Goa is wondering if Elvis Gomes will rise to the occasion?

In an earlier interview to Firstpost, Gomes said that Kejriwal has been the guiding force, whether it is policy formulation or implementation. “Our door-to-door campaign has helped AAP a lot. We paid heed to the people’s voices and it finds representation in our manifesto,” he said.

What’s really at stake

Drugs, corruption and employment are major issues in Punjab. But what’s really at stake today is the pride of Punjab. Outsider or insider, the next chief minister must restore the state’s pride.

Or I’m going to start throwing stones.

One of these men is going to be very disappointed

SP-Congress alliance will win today,and we will expose the people who were conspiring against CM: Rajendra Chaudhary,SP #ElectionResults pic.twitter.com/iEq4OAiloX

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) March 11, 2017

We are winning with 2/3rd majority, SP and BSP will be wiped out:Keshav Prasad Maurya,UP BJP Chief #ElectionResults pic.twitter.com/sbxMLHgNLN

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) March 11, 2017

Too early… can’t think

This counting business, no? It starts too early. Feni wants proper counting at proper time. Like nicely in the afternoon or something.

The Karan-Arjun show that wasn’t in UP
 

Imagine Karan and Arjun on one side in the epic Kurukshetra war! Someone in a rally in Meerut had this imagery in mind when he carried a placard describing Akhilesh and Rahul as Karan and Arjun. As exit poll results tell us this was not such a great idea. Particularly when the supposed great warriors are anything but great. It was more a case of hurried marriage of desperate people than a meeting strengths.

Rahul’s Congress has been a weak force in UP for a long time now and Akhilesh had been hobbled by intra-family power struggle and hostility from an influential section of the party. They brought each other’s weaknesses to the campaigning.

GOOD MORNING, MANIPUR!! m/ m/

Counting begins in an hour and I expect you to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when it does. Here’s something to help you shake off that Saturday laziness.

#ElectionResults2017: starting from 8 AM today https://t.co/griJul8cJF

Here → https://t.co/KDA3supVv3 pic.twitter.com/lCjfhXkMGV

— PIB India (@PIB_India) March 11, 2017

Which party do you see coming out on top today?

Wisdom from exit poll for Akhilesh-Rahul: Arithmetic minus chemistry equals disaster in Uttar Pradesh

Cycle ko haath pasand hai, UP ko ye saath pasand hai — went the campaign song for the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance in Uttar Pradesh.

Exit polls suggest UP-wallahs were not quite impressed. Forget a sweep, none gives it a clear majority, none places it in number one position either. Akhilesh and Rahul can well say hum ko exit poll pasand nahi hai but the poll reality may not be what they thought it would be.

The arithmetic of the alliance (25 percent of the Samajwadi Party’s plus around 11 percent of the Congress’s equals to an unbeatable 36 percent) does not appear to have found chemistry with the voters.

The lesson: Arithmetic without chemistry is a recipe for disaster.

Manipur on tenterhooks as predictions swing wild between Congress, BJP

With most of the exit poll surveys predicting a clear victory for BJP in Manipur, a question that is doing the rounds is that if BJP is going to repeat history in the North East after their big Assam win last year.

Read full article  here

Meanwhile in Uttarakhand, what will happen if BJP gets a majority? 

If BJP gets a majority in the state, the rebels can again hold the key because the names of some Congress rebels are floating around for post of chief minister. Apart from this, big faces of rebels can claim big position in the government keeping old BJP leaders at bay.

It will not be easy for BJP to ignore the Harak Singh Rawat, Shailendra Mohan SINghal, Subodh UNiyal, and Yashpal Arya like big face of this hill state politics.

Will Amarinder Singh’s birthday bring the Congress luck in Punjab?

Amarinder Singh turned 75 on the day when the results of Punjab Assembly elections, which witnessed an intense triangular contest, will be declared.

It remains to be seen what gift is in store for the state Congress chief, who has already announced that this was his last election.

If the Congress, which is seeking to return to power in Punjab after a hiatus of 10 years, wins, he would have two reasons to cheer.

While the Congress veteran has been spending the last few days at his residence in Chandigarh, his hectic poll campaign schedule was followed by the release of his biography — The People’s Maharaja — written by Chandigarh-based journalist Khushwant Singh.

Security is already being beefed up in Goa

Heavy security outside a counting centre in Panaji #Goa #ElectionResults pic.twitter.com/1lHZBj0k7D

— ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2017

11 March is upon us at last

It all comes down to this. All those millions of votes cast; all those speeches given and counting begins at 8 am, which means just over 90 minutes. Which also means 5,400 seconds.

Will Manohar Parrikar come back to Goa?

The Union defence minister is unarguably the most popular BJP leader in Goa and majority of Goans would want to see Parrikar back as the next chief minister. So would Parrikar, who had moved to the Centre, rather reluctantly in November 2014.

Circumstances will dictate if Parrikar would be back where Goans want him to. He may be asked to form the next government if BJP falls short of the majority since his magnetic personality will attract Independents and some smaller parties to support BJP.

However, if BJP gets majority on its own, Parrikar may stay put as the defence minister and be asked to nominate the new chief minister, as he was asked to in 2014, when he handpicked Laxmikant Parsekar as his successor.

Can BJP recreate its Assam success in Manipur?

Like Assam, the BJP in Manipur was pitted against a three-time chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh, someone who had acquired an aura of invincibility in the state. His loss would be a huge blow to the Congress.

It would lose another state and add to the string of losses that the party faced since 2013. It would also mean announcing that one of its most powerful regional leaders has retired, hurt and wounded.

Since the time Narendra Modi became BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, he placed equal emphasis on the North East just as any other part of the country. He addressed multiple rallies in different parts of the North East and even after becoming the prime minister, North East remained high on the agenda. Can the BJP replicate its Assam success in another North East state?

Read the full article  here

Harish Rawat will have himself to blame if Congress suffers defeat in Uttarakhand

Chief Minister Harish Rawat had the advantage of playing the victim card – as someone whose legitimate government was toppled by unfair means – and gained sympathy of the masses. He also had the scope to induct fresh blood in terms of candidates and approach the elections with new energy. After all, the troublemakers were out and he had a free hand to choose the best people from the party or outside.

However, what the party witnessed were new troubles opening up. Ticket distribution left many hopefuls unhappy and Rawat’s alleged high-handed ways alienated party workers. As many as 50 out of 70 seats in the state, according to media reports, had too many angry Congress workers.

To read full report, click  here

Despite poor predictions, SAD-BJP confident of win in Punjab | PTI

Despite the exit polls predicting a total rout for the ruling SAD-BJP alliance, which is targeting a third term in the state, 89-year-old Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal claimed the combine will win 72 seats.

Who could become Uttar Pradesh’s next chief minister?

After seven phases of voting, Uttar Pradesh’s two-month exercise in democracy is nearing its end with results to be declared on Saturday. Here’s a brief list of possible chief ministerial candidates for the state:

Rajnath Singh, Manoj Sinha, Keshav Prasad Maurya are some prominent faces in BJP, while Akhilesh Yadav is the undisputed leader in the event of a SP-Congress win. If BSP is able to prove the pollsters wrong, then Mayawati will ascend to the throne.  Read the article here

Will BJP come back to power in Goa?

The exit polls released on Thursday projected a win for BJP in the 40-seat Goa Assembly. The polls put Congress in second and predicted that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will not repeat its Delhi success in Goa. 

#EXCLUSIVE 'Trend shows that BJP will come back to power' Laxmikant Parsekar to @smitharnair pic.twitter.com/V7slyBqRt9

— News18 (@CNNnews18) March 10, 2017

Whoever secures the plain area seats will win Uttarakhand

In the hill state of Uttarakhand, winning the 28 plain area seats is enough to secure majority. In this state, 20 seats fall in the plain areas of Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar, including eight of the 10 seats in Dehradun district.

In 2012, Congress had won five seats and BJP 12 seats in Haridwar and Udham Singh nagar, with both sharing the spoils (four seats each) in Dehradun.

To attain majority, victory in these seats will play a pivotal role. Party heavyweights on both sides are trying their luck on these seats, including chief minister Harish Rawat, who is contesting from Kichcha and Haridwar.

Ibobi confident his party will perform well and form government in Manipur

On Friday, in an interview with ANI, Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh expressed confidence of achieving absolute majority in the Assembly polls.

He said that the Congress would win around 42 seats in the 60-member Assembly.

Exit polls have predicted a remarkable victory for the Congress in Manipur.

CM Okram Ibobi Singh upbeat about forming government in Manipur https://t.co/lzai1OWuTa Read @ANI_news story pic.twitter.com/mASnniHnFx

— ANI Digital (@ani_digital) March 10, 2017

Voters exacted revenge from the Badals in Punjab

Warning signs for the ruling Akali-BJP alliance in Punjab had first surfaced in the 2014 elections with two distinct results. The first was the humiliating defeat of finance minister Arun Jaitley in the Akali bastion of Amritsar at the hands of Congress leader Captain Amarinder Singh. The second was the phenomenal rise of AAP in the state’s Malwa region.

Read the full article  here .

Amar Singh blames Akhilesh Yadav for alliance with Congress in UP

Expelled Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh on Friday blamed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s move to align with the Congress for the expected good showing of the BJP in the state.

Have you met our ’experts’?

Key issues in the run up to the Uttarakhand polls 

Uttarakhand has moved on from being a primarily agrarian state.

The important issues in the state have to do with migration, unemployment, women and child health, ecological disasters, depreciating tourism and traditional farming, water conservation, man-animal conflict, illegal wildlife trade, ill-conceived hydropower projects, forest fires and deforestation etc. These were the issues that concerned the hill state.

Goa has a history of hung Assemblies

Smaller states like Goa witness different brand of political permutations and combinations. After 81 percent out of the state’s eligible and registered 11.09 lakh voters opted to exercise their right to franchise on 4 February, Goa continues to witness a slugfest over postal ballots. 

Being India’s tiniest state, the average votes cast on 4 February comes to 24,627 votes cast in each of Goa’s 40 constituencies. If the past is any indicator, victory margins in many constituencies could yet again be very narrow in which roughly 440 postal ballots on an average in each constituency may make or mar the chances of political parties and chief minister aspirants.

Read full analysis  here .

Credit goes to Bhagwant Mann if AAP wins Punjab

Bhagwant Mann is no laughing matter. The former comedian could prove to be the joker in the pack in Punjab. If the Aam Aadmi Party wins in the state, the credit for it would go largely to Mann. He is the man who got the party the crowds and wild following, not so much Arvind Kejriwal. Whether the party would discover a serious politician in the funny guy and anoint him chief minister is a matter of conjecture though. The party has to win first.

In UP, Rahul confident of SP-Congress victory

Rahul Gandhi today said exit polls that have given the BJP an edge over other parties in Uttar Pradesh were “wrong” and claimed his party in alliance with the SP would win the elections.

Giving examples of how the pollsters’ predictions were wrong during Bihar Assembly elections, he stressed that this time also the same thing would happen.

Most of the exit polls yesterday gave the BJP a clear lead over other parties in the state with one of them predicting 285 seats for the saffron party.

“I’m not giving any opinion on the opinion polls,” Gandhi said.

What the exit polls say about Punjab

What the exit polls say about Goa

What the exit polls say about Manipur

What the exit polls say about Uttarakhand

What the exit polls say about Uttar Pradesh

Less than 18 hours to go

Counting begins on Saturday at 8 am, with results to be declared later that day. This will bring to an end a two-month-long series of elections across five states including Uttar Pradesh, arguably the most important Assembly polls before the General Election in 2019