The election process continued for almost two months. (Representational)
As soon as the counting of votes polled in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry begins at 8 am on May 2, television news channels, including NDTV, will start broadcasting the latest updates. The results can also be followed on their online platforms or apps.
The Election Commission also puts the results on its website and it continuously keeps updating them.
For viewing of the election results online, a user can also log on to NDTV website or the NDTV app.
Initial trends will start rolling out soon after the counting begins, but a clear picture will start taking shape only after 10 am. By 5 pm, the party positioning in each of the states and the Union Territory should be clear. The results could get delayed by a few hours in view of the safety measure being implemented by the Election Commission to protect counting officials from the coronavirus.
The Election Commission had announced the dates for the assembly elections in West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry on February 26. While polling in West Bengal was held in eight phases, Assam voted in three. Election in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry was held in a single phase on April 6.
All eyes will be on the West Bengal result, where the ruling Trinamool Congress engaged in a battle of nerves with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Also, the state has the highest number of seats at 294.
The Assam results are important for the BJP as it is fighting to retain its position in the state where it won for the first time in 2016.
Tamil Nadu has 234 seats and the battle is between Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and MK Stalin.
In Kerala, the contest is between the ruling CPM-led LDF, Congress-led UDF, and BJP. The state has 140 seats.
The fight in Puducherry is between the Congress-led UPA and the AINRC-led opposition alliances.
The election process continued for almost two months and during the second wave of the pandemic.
The Election Commission has banned all victory processions by political parties after the results are announced. It has also ordered officials to not allow more than two people to accompany the winning candidate or his/her representative for receiving the certificate of election from the Returning Officer.
The decisions came amid a criticism of the poll body for not doing enough to manage the gathering of people to a minimum during election rallies.