New Delhi: Exit polls released Thursday evening are keeping the BJP ahead in Rajasthan and the Congress in Telangana and Chhattisgarh, while Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram are too close to call.
It should be mentioned here that exit polls, conducted after voters have cast their ballots, are not definitive and have gone horribly wrong before.
Here is how exit predictions stand for the five states:
Rajasthan (199 polled of 200 seats): Several exit polls have indicated that incumbent Congress may not buck the trend set in this state since 1993 – as no outgoing dispensation has been voted back in the last 30 years.
Most polls are giving the BJP an edge over the incumbent Congress, which was riding on Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s many schemes. Analysts, however, say the disharmony between Gehlot and the party’s state chief Sachin Pilot may not have gone down well with voters.
In 2018, the Congress won 100 seats to the BJP’s 73, even though the vote share was almost the same.
Madhya Pradesh (230 seats): Exit polls for this key state suggest a close contest between the BJP and the Congress, with a hung assembly as a possibility.
The Congress had formed a government in the state after emerging as the largest party in the 2018 polls, but a revolt by party leader Jyotiraditya Scindia in 2020 brought the BJP back to power.
The BJP’s Shivraj Singh Chauhan has been chief minister since 2005, except briefly for those two years from 2018 to 2020.
Telangana (119 seats): Polls say the Congress is likely to win this state, with most putting it way ahead of the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
BRS founder and chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) is seeking a third term in power, having ruled the state since it was formed in 2014.
Mizoram (40 seats): In Mizoram, the fight seems to be between the incumbent Mizo National Front (MNF) and the main opposition, the Zoram People’s Movement. The Congress, which also fought all 40 seats, is trailing way behind, according to the polls.
The MNF, which is part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in the Centre, has, however, said it will not tie up with the central party if it falls short in the Assembly.
Chhattisgarh (90 seats): The polls are near-unanimous in indicating that the Congress was winning this state and that outgoing chief minister Bhupesh Baghel was safe.
In the 2018 elections, the Congress notched a landslide win with 68 seats while the BJP, which won 49 seats in 2013, got just 15.
Also read: Congress will win Rajasthan polls, BJP to lose in all 5 states: Gehlot