Chhattisgarh Assembly election exit poll results 2018: Exit polls divided on BJP retaining Naxal-affected state

The Chhattisgarh Assembly election exit polls are in and it appears surveys are divided on which party will come to power in the state that voted over two phases.

While Times Now-CNX has given the BJP 46 seats — the halfway mark in the 90-seat Assembly, it predicts that the Congress will pick up 35 seats. Meanwhile, the India Today-Axis survey gives the Congress between 55 and 60 seats, with 21 to 31 for the BJP and between four and eight for the JCC-BSP combine. However, the Republic-CVoter survey is giving the BJP between 35 and 43 seats, while tipping the Congress to claim between 40 and 50 seats. News Nation has made a similar prediction, expecting the BJP to pool between 38 and 42 seats, Congress 40 to 44, and the BSP-JCC alliance to get between four and eight seats.

Republic-CVoter has given the Congress 42 to 50 seats, BJP 35 to 43 and the BSP-JCC combine three to seven. The NewsX-NETA survey has predicted 43 seats for the BJP, 40 for the Congress and seven for others.

This election is part of five Assembly polls across the country that form the final election season ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Whether or not these polls will have any impact on the mandate of May next year still remains to be seen. The results of all five elections will be out on 11 December.

Follow all the latest updates from the Chhattisgarh Elections here

Follow Firstpost's coverage of the 2018 Vidhan Sabha Elections here