New Delhi:
Exit polls have predicted that the BJP will win big in Haryana, which has been ruled by the Congress since 2005.
NDTV's poll of polls - which aggregates the results of three exit polls - shows the BJP winning 50 seats, a comfortable majority in the 90-seat assembly. In the previous election, the BJP won only four seats.
If predictions prove correct, the BJP will form its first government on its own in Haryana.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a dozen rallies in Haryana over a fortnight, promising big development and an end to corruption.
Banking on "Brand Modi", the BJP avoided projecting any chief ministerial candidate in the state, hoping to replicate its national election success; the party won seven of Haryana's 10 parliamentary seats.
The polls predict a rout for the Congress, which is battling to retain Haryana for a third straight term. The party is tipped to win 12 seats, they say, a sharp drop from its current 40.
The BJP read signs of change in the national poll results, and today's record voter turnout of 73 per cent.
Going for broke, the BJP contested alone in the state, dumping Kuldip Bishnoi's Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) party. The polls give Mr Bishnoi's party two seats, down four from the previous assembly polls.
Jailed politician Om Prakash Chautala is likely to win a significant 23 seats, the polls say, though it is a drop from 32 seats in 2009. Mr Chautala has held his ground but apparently failed to expand his party's largely rural base to urban areas.
Mr Chautala was sent back to jail on Sunday after the Supreme Court agreed that he had misused bail granted for his medical treatment by addressing multiple rallies in Haryana. The four-time chief minister is serving a 10-year jail sentence for corruption. He had appealed for votes saying he would take oath as chief minister "from jail".