Exit polls: TMC leads in Bengal, BJP in Assam
Congress set for close battle in Kerala with the CPI(M), while the DMK-Congress alliance is predicted to sweep Tamil Nadu
Mamata Banerjee will retain West Bengal with her Trinamool Congress winning a comfortable majority of the state’s 294 seats, even as its arch rival, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was poised to put up a strong fight, according to exit polls released on Thursday.
An aggregate of exit polls predicts that Mamata Banerjee will make it past the half-way mark, enough to win a third straight term. But after a series of defections before the elections, the Chief Minister has to widen her gap with the BJP for a comfortable victory.
In Assam, the saffron party is expected to retain power, while the Congress is up for disappointment, the exit polls predicted.
In Tamil Nadu, the polls predicted a sweep for the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-Congress alliance, while the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), which fought the elections in an alliance with the BJP, will lose the first state election since the death of its leader J Jayalalithaa in 2016.
Kerala will see neck-andneck results between the incumbent Communist Part of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Congress-led United Democratic Front. The BJP is predicted to win only a handful of seats, the
exit polls said.
In the 30 seat Puducherry assembly, exit polls predicted a comfortable majority for the BJP-led NDA.
Elections in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry were held from March 27. The results will be announced on May 2.
Political consulting firm Politique Marquer (P-Marq) predicted between 152 and 172 seats for the Banerjee-led TMC in West Bengal, just above the majority mark of 148, while it said the BJP will put up a good show with 112-132 seats. The Congress-Left alliance is likely to win 10-20 seats.
ABP C-Voter also predicted 152-164 seats for the TMC. The BJP, it said, will get over 100 seats (109-121), while the Congress-Left alliance may win 14-25 seats. C-Voter said the TMC will bag a vote share of 42.1% votes with the BJP 39%.
CNN News18 exit poll said the TMC will win 162 and the BJP 115 seats in the state assembly.
Republic TV-CNX, on the other hand, gave a slight edge to the BJP, saying the saffron party will the bag 138-148 seats, with the TMC a close behind with 128-138 seats. It said the Congress-Left alliance will bag between 11 and 21 seats in the bitterly fought elections.
In the 126-member Assam assembly, ABP-C Voter forecast that the BJP-led National Dem