Two out of three exit polls so far show the BJP scoring a big win in Uttarakhand.
Highlights
- Two out of four exit polls show win for BJP
- None of the exit polls show the BSP winning a seat
- 2012 elections had hung assembly, with Congress winning 32 and BJP 31
the BJP scoring a big win in Uttarakhand, two shows the party ahead while one shows a repeat of 2012, when the party was neck and neck with the Congress. A poll of exit polls averages these surveys to show the BJP winning comfortably with 42 of the hill states 70 assembly seats, with the Congress winning 24.
A party needs to get 36 seats to form government.
The News24-Today's Chanakya survey gives the BJP a huge majority at 53 seats, while the India Today Axis exit poll says the party will get 46 to 53. India News-MRC shows the BJP at 38 and the Congress at 30. ABP Lokniti predicts the BJP will get between 34-42, Congress 23-29 and others 3-9.
The India TV-C-Voter poll however shows both parties getting 29-35 each, with other parties wining 2-9 seats, crucial if there is a hung house.
The 2012 elections had thrown up a hung assembly, with the Congress winning 32 seats and the BJP 31. The Congress was helped by Mayawati's BSP, Independents and others to cross the majority mark.
None of the exit polls today show the BSP or Bahujan Samaj Party winning a seat in Uttarakhand. In 2012 the BSP had won three seats and those legislators had helped Congress Chief Minister Harish Rawat survive a trust vote last year after a number of his party's legislators rebelled against him.
Several key Congress leaders had joined the BJP ahead of the Uttarakhand elections and the BJP had to fight internal unrest for choosing to field its new imports as candidates over those who have been in the party for a number of years.
Exit polls, of course, often get it wrong and the actual results will only be known on Saturday, March 11, when votes are counted in Uttarakhand and four other states, including giant neighbour UP.