The counting of the votes for the Rajasthan assembly polls, which saw a direct fight between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, began at 8 am today. The BJP is currently leading in the state with the Congress in second place. The elections in the desert state were held in a single phase on November 25. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, leading the Congress, is optimistic that the party will defy the long-standing anti-incumbency trend of Rajasthan.
The BJP is set to defeat the Congress and return to power, an NDTV poll of polls indicated. The biggest predictions in favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party are Republic TV-Matrize, which gives the BJP a massive 115-130 seats, and the Times Now-ETG, which gives it 108-128 seats.