Exit polls: TMC leads in West 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
NEW DELHI: 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-and-neck 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 Democratic Alliance (NDA) will win between 58 and 71 seats, ahead of the majority mark of 64, even as it predicted that the Congress alliance will win 53-66 seats.
P-Marq predicted the NDA to win 62-70 seats in Assam, trailed by the Congress with 56-64 seats.
India Today-Axis My India exit poll forecast that the BJP alliance will win 75-85 seats and the Congress 40-50 assembly seats. Republic TV-CNX also said the BJP will win 74-84 seats and the Congress 40-50 in Assam.
In Tamil Nadu, all exit polls said the DMK will win the state with a comfortable majority in the 234-member assembly.
Republic TV-CNX forecast that the DMK-Congress alliance will bag 160-170 seats and the AIADMK alliance 58-68. P-Marq also said the DMK is likely to will 165-190 seats and the AIADMK alliance 4065 seats.
The majority mark in the Tamil Nadu assembly is 118.
In the 140-member Kerala assembly, where the majority mark is 72, India Today-Axis My India predicted that the CPI(M)-led LDF will win 104 to 120 seats, and the Congress-led UDF 20-36 seats. It said the JP-led NDA may just about open its account with 0-2 seats. Republic-CNX exit poll, on the other hand, said it will be a close fight between the LDF and the UDF. It said the CPI(M) alliance may bag 72-80 seats and the UDF 58-64. It said the NDA will win 1-5 seats. Soon after the exit polls began getting telecast soon after the eight-phase elections ended in West Bengal on Thursday, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said, “I have always been confident that LDF will return to power with more seats than we got in 2016, I have faith in the people.”