Exit polls: BJP will win Gujarat

Continued from Page 1 while CSDS- ABP projected BJP- 38 and Congress29.

Before the elections, Himachal Pradesh had a Congress government and the state’s voters have a reputation of never returning the same regime twice. The state also witnessed a high voting percentage which traditionally hints at antiincumbency wave.

In 2012, the Congress came to power in Himachal Pradesh when it won 36 of the 68 seats, while the BJP got 26 and others 6.

Touted as the curtain raiser for 2019 general elections, campaigning for Assembly polls to the two states were a bitter battle of words with the attacks often getting personal and, at times, outlandish.

A public spat between Mr Modi former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the latter attending a dinner at Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar’s house, along with Pakistani official, has been the low point of the campaign in Gujarat.

Gujarat recorded an estimated 68.70 per cent voter turnout in the second phase of polling, the Election Commission and said. The figure is likely to go up as details were still being worked out at the time of going to the press.

Around 2.22 crore voters were eligible to exercise their franchise to choose their representatives from among 851 candidates in the fray on Thursday. The results for both Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh elections will be declared on December 18.