Poll results today, clear picture likely by 11 am

NEW DELHI: Ahead of Tuesday’s counting of votes in five states, which went to polls recently, the Election Commission (EC) has reminded the chief electoral officers that round-wise results should be shared with the candidates and the media, without fail.

Reminding the CEOs of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Telangana of its April 2014 instructions, it said the observer and returning officers will sign the candidatewise results for the round after checking all aspects.

The results of the polls are being seen as a major test of popularity of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The trends will start pouring in from 8 am and a clear picture is expected to emerge in all the states by 11 am.

The results will test the popularity of incumbent governments as also the potency of challenge of the opposition.

The BJP is in power in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, the Congress in Mizoram and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) in Telangana.

Exit polls conducted so far have predicted the Congress party’s return in Rajasthan and a clean sweep for the TRS in Telangana. The exit polls have also given the Congress an edge over the BJP in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

The surveys predicted that Mizoram, the only north-east state now with the Congress, may see a hung assembly with the Mizo National Front (MNF) holding the edge. The outcome will be a test for electoral strategy of Congress president Rahul Gandhi who assumed office in December last year. It will also have a bearing on efforts to forge opposition unity for the 2019 elections and if the Congress will emerge as the natural leader of the proposed front.