Election exit poll results: Yogi-led BJP headed for second term, AAP to make clean sweep in Punjab; close battle in Goa

The exit polls predict that the BJP will retain power in Uttar Pradesh with a considerable majority, while the Aam Aadmi Party is forecasted to score a clear victory in the Punjab elections.

For the Uttarkhand Assembly polls, the exit polls offered a mixed bag.

According to PTI, several exit polls forecast a clear majority for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh and the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab while being mixed in their predictions for Uttarakhand.

BJP set to retain UP

Exit polls on CNN News 18, Republic TV and NewsX channels showed the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) getting 211-277 seats and its main challenger in the Samajwadi Party-led alliance getting anywhere between 119 and 160 seats in Uttar Pradesh. CNN News 18 predicted 262-277 seats for the BJP and allies and 119-134 for the SP and allies in the 403-member state Assembly.

The Yogi Adityanath-led BJP is likely to score a second straight win in Uttar Pradesh, the exit polls signal. An aggregate of four polls give the BJP and its allies 231 of the state’s 403 seats - the majority-mark is at 202 - with Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party limited at around 140-plus, NDTV said in a report.

AAP favoured in Punjab

Most of them were also unanimous in predicting a big win for Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP in Punjab, with one exit poll on India Today projecting up to 76-90 seats in the 117-member Assembly.

TV9 Bharatvarsh-Polstrat, however, predicted 56-61 seats for the AAP in Punjab, making it the frontrunner. The ruling Congress was mostly predicted to be securing the second spot in Punjab.

NDTV said in a report, an average of five polls predicts a remarkable win for AAP in its first major state, Punjab. The exit polls give AAP 68 seats in the 117-seat Punjab, where 59 is the majority mark. The BJP, however, may still remain a minor player in Punjab, with its former ally, Akali Dal, predicted to win 18 seats.

Neck-and-neck fight between Congress and BJP in Uttarakhand

According to PTI, in Uttarakhand, both the Congress and the BJP were favoured by different exit polls to win the Assembly polls. Some exit polls predicted a hung Assembly in Goa while forecasting the BJP to have an edge over rivals in Manipur.

The exit polls predict a close fight, with the BJP marginally ahead but both the BJP and the Congress within striking distance of power, NDTV said.

Prediction by Times Now-Veto showed the BJP winning 37 seats and Congress getting 31 Uttarakhand.

BJP likely to prevail in Manipur

According to NDTV, an early poll of exit polls shows the BJP emerging as the single-largest party in Manipur. A poll by Zee News-Designboxed shows the BJP getting 32-38 seats and the Congress 12-17 seats. India TV-Ground Zero Research shows the BJP getting 26-31 seats, while the Congress is getting 12-17 seats in the 60-member assembly.

Close battle in Goa 

The exit polls also foresee a tight race in Goa with the BJP predicted to win 18 of the state’s 40 seats and the Congress 15, both below the majority mark of 21, as per NDTV.

Last phase of UP elections

56.05 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the seventh and last phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections for 54 seats on Monday.

A total of 613 candidates are in the fray on various seats, including those falling in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary segment Varanasi.

2017 UP Assembly elections

Once considered a stronghold of the Samajwadi Party, the region saw the BJP making inroads in 2017 by winning 29 seats. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) got six seats and the SP 11, PTI said.

For the SP, its patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav made a rare appearance in Jaunpur to drum up support for Lucky Yadav, the son of his long-time associate the late Parasnath Yadav. Lucky Yadav is in the fray from the Malhani seat. Mulayam Singh Yadav had earlier campaigned for his son Akhilesh Yadav in the Karhal Assembly segment of Mainpuri.

Besides state Tourism Minister Neelkanth Tiwari (Varanasi South), other ministers in the fray in the last leg of the elections are Anil Rajbhar (Shivpur-Varanasi), Ravindra Jaiswal (Varanasi North), Girish Yadav (Jaunpur) and Ramashankar Singh Patel (Marihan-Mirzapur), PTI said.

Dara Singh Chauhan, who had resigned from the Yogi Adityanath cabinet and had joined the SP, is contesting from Ghosi in Mau.

Om Prakash Rajbhar (Zahoorabad), Dhananjay Singh (Malhani-Jaunpur) as the JD(U) candidate, and Abbas Ansari, the son of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, from Mau Sadar seat, are contesting in this phase, PTI said.

Campaigning in this phase reached its crescendo with Prime Minister Modi leading the BJP’s poll blitzkrieg in Varanasi and its adjoining districts. Besides addressing election rallies, he also held a roadshow for three assembly constituencies in his Lok Sabha segment.

This phase also saw West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee descending on the pilgrim city to hold a joint rally with Akhilesh Yadav and his RLD ally Jayant Chaudhary.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had been camping in Varanasi for about four days. She, along with her brother Rahul Gandhi, addressed election meetings, whereas BSP supremo Mayawati campaigned in the district and neighbouring areas, PTI said.

Seeking to override anti-incumbency, the ruling party raised issues like forced migration and law and order problems during the previous SP government, while Akhilesh Yadav targeted the BJP government on the issues of inflation, unemployment, stray cattle, and the farmers’ agitation against the Centre’s agriculture laws.

As per PTI, the mowing down of four farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri was also highlighted by all opposition parties. Union minister Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra is an accused in the case. The state has 403 Assembly seats and the results of the elections will be declared on 10 March.

With inputs from agencies

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