A number of exit polls on Thursday predicted the likely winners of the 2017 Assembly elections in five states – Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand.
Number of constituencies in the fray:
- Uttar Pradesh: 403 – the highest number of seats in an Indian state
- Uttarakhand: 71
- Manipur: 60
- Goa: 40
- Punjab: 117
Uttar Pradesh
The Bharatiya Janata Party is looking to dethrone the Samajwadi Party, which contested the polls in alliance with the Congress. Most exit polls were in the BJP’s favour.
The TimesNow-VMR exit polls has predicted a lead for the BJP in the state, with 190 to 210 seats. The SP-Congress alliance will win 110-130 seats, while the Bahujan Samaj Party will bag 54 to 74 seats.
According to the NewsX-MRC exit polls, the BJP will win 185 seats, while Congress-SP will get 120. Mayawati’s BSP will win 90 seats, and eight will go to others.
The CSDS-ABP poll projected a close call, with 170 seats for the BJP and 162 for SP-Congress. The BSP is slated to get 66, and 4 seats go to others. In the C-Voter exit poll, the BJP is projected to get 161 seats, while the alliance will get 141 and the BSP 87. Fourteen seats are predicted to go to others.
Uttarakhand
The Congress is fighting to retain power in Uttarakhand, which had tumbled into a state of political crisis last year after a section of party leaders rebelled.
The MRC polls has predicted a win for the BJP with 38 seats, ahead of 30 seats for the Congress and two for other candidates. Chanakya’s poll predicts 53 seats for the BJP and 30 for Congress. C-Voter had predicted 32 seats for both parties, while Axis My India has BJP with 50 seats and Congress with 17.
Manipur
In Manipur, too, the BJP is keen on forming government, having held the Congress-led Okram Ibobi Singh administration responsible for the ongoing crisis in the state.
The C-Voter poll projects the BJP will win 28 seats, the Congress 20, and 12 for others. Axis shows a Congress win, though. It predicts 33 seats for Congress, 9 for BJP and 5 for the others.
According to the CNN-News18’s MRC poll, the BJP is ahead and will win 25 to 31 seats, while the Congress will bag 17 to 23 seats, and others, including Irom Sharmila, will win 11.
Goa
The AAP contested the Assembly elections in the state for the first time, looking to overthrow the ruling BJP government.
However, the MRC polls have predicted 15 seats for the BJP, 10 for the Congress and seven for AAP. C-Voter predictions for Goa also favour the BJP in Goa with a win in 15 to 21 seats. Its numbers say that the Congress will win 12 to 18 seats, while the AAP will get only two to four. Axis shows BJP will win 20 seats, Congress 11, and AAP only 1 seat.
Punjab
The AAP and Congress are taking on the BJP-SAD alliance in the state. The ruling government has been repeatedly targeted for the drug menace and disruptive law-and-order situation in the state.
The NewsX-MRC exit polls shows a 55-seat win for both AAP and Congress and seven for the allied parties.
According to the India Today polls, the Congress will form government in Punjab with 62 to 71 seats, overthrowing the ruling SAD-BJP, which is predicted to win a mere four to seven seats. The AAP will bag 41 to 51 seats, with about two seats going to other contesting candidates.
The Axis My India polls for Punjab has forecast between 62 and 71 seats to the Congress and only four to seven for the SAD-BJP alliance. AAP will win 42 to 51 seats in the state, according to this survey.
C-Voter polls for Punjab have predicted an AAP win with 59 to 67 seats, followed by the Congress with 41 to 49 and the SAD-BJP with five to 13. Chanakya has projected 54 seats for both Congress and AAP, and 9 seats for the BJP.
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