12.57 pm: The BJP and its allies appear poised to sweep all the five assembly segments which together form Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency, Varanasi as well as the three adjoining ones falling in the district. As per trends available till noon, the BJP is leading by a comfortable margin in all the three urban seats it had won in 2012 — Varanasi Cantt, Varanasi South and Varanasi North.

12.46 pm: Trends

Uttar Pradesh: BJP - 309; SP-Congress - 65; BSP - 21

Punjab: Congress - 75; AAP - 24; SAD-BJP - 18

Uttarakhand:BJP - 55; Congress - 11; Others - 4

Manipur: Congress - 18; BJP - 16; Others - 9

Goa: Congress - 10; BJP - 8; Others - 7

12.43 pm: This is a big victory. BJP has reached new heights in Uttarkhand and Uttar Pradesh and changed the political picture of the country: Rajnath Singh.

It is a victory of BJP’s ideology and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pro—poor and development policies: BJP chief Amit Shah on assembly poll results.

12.33 pm: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat loses Haridwar (Rural) seat to BJP’s Yatishwaranand by over 12,000 votes.

12.32 pm: BJP, allies ahead in 305 constituencies as per trends from 403 Uttar Pradesh Assembly seats.

12.29 pm: It’s a BJP “tsunami” in Uttar Pradesh and not a ripple in a small pond, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah today said and advised the opposition to forget 2019 and start planning for the 2024 general elections. Read more

12.09 pm: Congress’s Kanwarpal Singh wins from Anandpur Sahib in Punjab

12.08 pm: Congress surges ahead in Punjab. It is racing ahead in 65 seats in the 117-member Assembly, followed by the AAP in 25 seats, the SAD in 20 seats and the BJP in four seats. Congress is seeking to return to power after a hiatus of 10 years.

12.04 pm: Goa Forward candidate Vinod Palyekar defeats BJP candidate and State minister Dayanand Mandrekar in Siolim constituency.

11.54 am: Goa Deputy CM Francis D’Souza wins from Mapusa

11.40 am: Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar (BJP) loses to Congress’ Dayanand Sopte in Mandrem constituency.

11.35 am: Ashwini Phadnis reports

The BJP wins the second seat in Manipur for which results have been declared. The Election Commission website shows that the BJP is also leading in five other constituencies in the State. The Congress is leading in 12 seats in Manipur, the EC website shows. Leads are now available for 30 of the 60 seats in the Manipur State Assembly.

In Goa the BJP has won two seats and leads in another 5 seats while the Congress has won 1 seat and leads in another 7.

In Punjab, status is know available for all 117 seats in the Assembly with the Congress leading in 72 seats, Aam Adami Party leads in 23 seats, Shiromani Akali Dal leads in 16 seats and its alliance partner the BJP in 4 seats.

But it seems to be a clear safforn wave in Uttar Pradesh. Of the 401 leads available from the 403 seat Assembly BJP is leading in 245 Samajwadi Party in 57, Bahujan Samaj Party in 15 and Congress in 12. BJP looks set to win Uttrakhand as it is leading in 52 of the 70 seats in the state Assembly. Congress is leading in 15 seats while Independents are leading in 3 the EC website shows.

11.28 am: Uttar Pradesh

Independent candidate Aman Mani Tripathi is ahead of his nearest rival SP’s Kunwar Kaushal Kishore Singh alias Munna Singh by over 12,000 votes in Nautanwa seat.

BJP’s Suresh Rana leading over BSP’s Abdul Waris Khan in Thana Bhawan seat in Shamli by more than 1,000 votes.

11.27 am: Sapam Ranjan Singh of BJP wins from Konthoujam seat in Manipur over his Congress rival Konthoujam Sharat Singh by a margin of 2,772 votes.

Congress leads in 8 seats, BJP in 5 in Goa

11.20 am: Congress takes major lead in Punjab

11.16 am: Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh wins Thoubal Assembly constituency by over 8,000 votes.

11.15 am: Trends and leads

The BJP heads for a huge win in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand while the Congress forging ahead in Punjab marked by an anti-incumbency wave in the three states while they were locked in a close contest in Goa and Manipur.

After three hours of counting of votes, the BJP was leading in 291 out of 396 constituencies in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly in a stunning showing leaving their rivals far behind. The SP-Congress coalition was ahead in 69 seats while Mayawati’s party BSP put up a poor show leading only in 17 places. The SP, whose campaign was spearheaded by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on development agenda, led in 58 seats.

With a 45 per cent vote share in Uttarakhand, the BJP was leading in 52 constituencies while the Congress was ahead only in 16 segments, according to trends available for all the 70 seats.

In Punjab, the Congress was leading in 65 of the 117 constituencies while the AAP, making a debut in Punjab Assembly polls, and the SAD were locked in a close contest for the second position ahead in 25 and 20 seats respectively. SAD’s coalition partner BJP was leading in four seats.

11.12 am: BJP leaders credit ‘Modi wave’ for strong showing in Uttar Pradesh. Read more

11.04 am: Punjab Congress’s Gurjit Singh Aujla leading by 21,881 votes in Amritsar Lok Sabha constituency. Bypolls here were held with the assembly polls.

Uttar Pradesh: BJP’s Sangeet Singh Som is ahead of his nearest SP rival Atul Pradhan by a margin of 8,359 votes in Sardhana seat.

10.54 am: Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar (BJP) trails Congress candidate Dayanand Sopte by 3,826 votes in Mandrem constituency.

10.52 am: Ashwini Phadnis reports

The BJP looks set to sweep to power in Uttar Pradesh where it is leading in 270 seats of the 377 seats for which leads are available in the state. The State Assembly has 403 seats.

The Election Commission website shows that BJP is also likely to win in Uttrakhand where the party is leading in 48 seats of the 62 seats for which leads are available. The state Assembly has 70 seats.

It seems to be neck and neck in Goa where Congress is leading in 8 seats and BJP in 6 seats of the 20 seats for which leads are available on the EC website. The state has 40 seats in the Assembly.

The Congress is likely to win in Punjab where it is leading in 64 seats of the 116 seats for which leads are available. The state Assembly has 117 seats.

10.51 am: Uttar Pradesh: BJP’s Suresh Rana trailing BSP’s Abdul Waris Khan in Thana Bhawan seat in Shamli by over 5,000 votes.

10.48 am: Trends and leads

Uttar Pradesh: BJP - 302; SP-Congress - 71; BSP - 22

Punjab: Congress - 70; SAD-BJP - 23; AAP - 23

Goa: Congress- 8; BJP - 6; Others - 6

Uttarakhad: BJP - 54; Congress - 14; Others - 2

Manipur: BJP - 14, Congress - 12; Others - 8

10.44 am: Gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari (BSP), son Abbas and brother Sigbatullah trailing in Mau, Ghosi and Mohammadabad seats respectively in Uttar Pradesh

10.43 am: BJP ahead in 48 constituencies as per trends from 62 out of 70 Assembly seats in Uttarakhand

Congress takes major lead in Punjab.

Naga People’s Front (NPF) and National People’s Party (NPP) ahead in two seats each and an independent candidate in one seat, trends from 17 out of 60-member Assembly seats show in Manipur.

10.37 am: Our correspondent Tina Edwin reports

BJP's campaign led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah appears to have paid off, the pain caused by note ban notwithstanding.

In Uttar Pradesh, BJP has cornered over 40 per cent of the votes counted so far, according to data available on the Election Commission website. Bahujan Samaj Party is a distant second with about 22 per cent share of votes

In Uttarakhand, the BJP has cornered nearly 45 per cent of the votes counted. Incumbent Congress has managed 33 per cent of the votes counted so far.

In Goa, the BJP has managed over 32 per cent of the votes counted. The Congress party, which is leading on seat share currently, has managed to get 26 per cent of the vote share.

In Manipur, the BJP has got nearly 34 per cent of the vote share. The party is also leading on seats share lead currently. The Congress party has so far got a little more than 28 per cent of the votes.

The only state where the party has performed badly is Punjab. BJP is the alliance partner of Shiromani Akali Dal in the outgoing government in the state. The party is lagging on vote share - so far it has managed to corner just about seven per cent of the vote share. In comparison, Congress has managed to get nearly 38 per cent of the votes.

10.36: The BJP win 1 seat in Manipur and is leading in 7 others of the 21 seats for which leads are available, Ashwini Phadnis reports

10.33 am: Leads

Uttar Pradesh: BJP - 294; SP-Congress - 78; BSP - 21

Punjab: Congress - 64; SAD-BJP - 29; AAP - 24

Goa: Congress - 11; BJP - 8; Others - 4

Manipur: Congres - 15; BJP - 14; Others - 2

10.27 am: BJP leading in eight seats in the 60-member Manipur Assembly

10.25 am: BJP leading in Ramnagar (Barabanki) and Ayodhya seats, in Uttar Pradesh. Ministers Arvind Singh Gope and Tej Narain alias Pawan Pandey trailing.

10.24 am: Our correspondent Ashwini Phadnis reports

Electors in all the five states for which votes are being counted today used the None of The Above (NOTA) option in the electronic voting machines.

The Election Commission’s website shows that in 345 Assembly Constituencies of the 403 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh for which leads are available show that 0.9 per cent of the electors pressed the NOTA button. In terms of votes 76,458 voters in UP pressed the NOTA button.

In Manipur leads for 16 of 60 seats are available which show that 0.4 per cent or 606 voters pressed the NOTA button. Similarly in Uttrakhand leads for 59 of the total 70 seats show that 1 per cent or 7,460 voters pressed the NOTA button.

In Punjab leads from 112 of the 117 show that 0.7 per cent of the electors or 19,897 voters pressed the NOTA button. In Goa leads for 16 of the 40 seats show that 1.2 per cent or 2,589 voters pressed the NOTA button.

10.14 am: Congress ahead in 50 seats in Punjab

10.05 am: Uttar Pradesh trends

SP leader Shivpal Yadav leading by 5,742 votes in Jaswant Nagar (Etawah) over his nearest rival Manish Yadav Batre of BJP.

BJP’s Suresh Rana leading in Thana Bhawan seat in Shamli.

10.04 am: MGP’s Dipak Pawaskar defeats Ganesh Gaonkar of BJP by 1,169 votes in Sanvordem constituency in Goa

10.02 am: Our corresondent Tina Edwin reports

Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) ambition of acquiring a national footprint over the next few years looks likely to suffer a setback. Early leads from counting in Punjab and Goa, the two states where it had hoped to emerge as victorious, show the party lagging.

In Punjab, it is leading only in 21 of the 103 seats for which leads are available and it has so far managed to get 23.7 per cent of the votes counted.

In Goa, it is yet to gain edge on any seat. Data available on the Election Commission website show AAP has managed to get six per cent of the votes counted so far in state.

Trends at 9.58 am:

Uttar Pradesh: BJP - 277; SP-Congress - 80; BSP - 26

Punjab: Congress - 63; SAD-BJP - 30; AAP - 22

Manipur: BJP - 11; Congress - 10; Others - 6

Uttarakhand: BJP - 52; Congress - 15; Others - 3

Goa: Congress - 8; BJP - 4; Others - 5

9.53 am: Mulayam Singh Yadav’s daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav trails Rita Joshi (BJP) in Lucknow Cant seat in Uttar Pradesh

9.53 am: BJP leading in 3 seats, Congress in 2 seats in Manipur

9.52 am: Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal leading over nearest rival Ravneet Singh Bittu of Congress by a margin of 2144 votes from Jalalabad.

9.49 am: Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar (BJP) trails Congress candidate Dayanand Sopte by 1,700 votes in Mandrem constituency.

9.48 am: Uttar Pradesh: Speaker Mata Prasad Pandey (SP) trailing in Itwa (Siddharth Nagar), BJP leading in the seat.

9.41 am: Our correspondent Ashwini Phadnis reports

In Uttar Pradesh, leads are now available with the Election Commission for 24 of the 403 Assembly Constituencies. The EC website shows that BJP is leading in 17 Assembly constituencies, BSP in 2, SP in 2, Congress in 1 and Apna Dal in 1.

In Punjab leads are available for 46 of the 117 Assembly constituencies which show that Congress is leading in 20 Assembly constituencies, Shiromani Akali Dal in 11, Aam Adami Party in 13 and BJP in 1.

In Uttrakhand leads are available for two Assembly constituencies of the 70 with BJP leading in both.

In Goa leads are available for eight of the 40 Assembly seats with the Congress leading in 3 seats, BJP in 2, and Mahrashtra Gomantak Party, an Independent and the Goa Forward Party candidates leading in one constituency each at around 9.30 a.m.

In Manipur leads for two of the 60 seats indicate that the Congress and Naga People Front are leading in one seat each.

The large scale use of Electronic Voting Machines has ensured that the results can be declared on the same day as the counting rather than taking a few days if the votes were counted manually

9.37 am: Uttar Pradesh Trends show Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s son Pankaj Singh leading in Noida

9.31 am: Trends

Uttar Pradesh: BJP - 242; SP-Congress - 69; BSP - 27

Punjab: Congress - 51; SAD-BJP - 26; AAP - 21

Goa: Congress - 6; BJP - 3; Others - 3

Manipur: BJP - 9; Congress - 7; Others - 4

Uttarakhand: BJP - 48; Congress - 12; Others - 2

9.30 am: Congress leading in 4 seats in Punjab, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal ahead of Congress' capt. Amarinder Singh

9.25 am: Rape accused Uttar Pradesh minister Gayatri Prajapati leading in Amethi. Rahguraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya ahead in Kunda.

9.15 am: Trends

Uttar Pradesh: BJP - 205; SP-Congress - 54; BSP - 30

Punjab: Congress - 39; AAP - 19; SAD-BJP - 14

Uttarakhand: BJP - 41; Congress - 12; BSP - 1

Goa: Congress - 4; BJP - 2; Others - 1

Manipur: BJP - 8; Congress - 6; Others - 2

9.14 am: BJP forges ahead in Uttar Pradesh as per initial trends from 180 of the 403 seats, leading in over 100 places.

Manipur Chief minister leading, Irom Sharmila trailing

9.10 am: First trends in Goa shows BJP leading in 1 seat.

9.03 am: Congress taking a lead in Punjab with 15 seats; AAP in 8 and SAD-BJP in 6

9.02 am: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is leading in Lambi assembly constituency, as per early trends.

8.45 am: Initial Leads

Uttar Pradesh: BJP - 59, SP-Congress - 16; BSP - 13

Punjab: AAP - 3; Congress - 2; SAD-BJP - 2

Uttarakhand: BJP - 4; Congress - 2

Manipur: Congress - 3; BJP - 2; Others - 2

8.39 am: Uttar Pradesh first leads: BJP in 47, SP-Congress in 15 and BSP in 9

8.36 am: AAP take a slight lead in Punjab in the initial trends

8.33 am: Congress and AAP lead in one constituency each in Punjab

8.32 am: In Manipur, Congress leading in 1 constituency in the initial trends

8.31 am: Congress lead in 1 constituency in Punjab

8.24 am: Uttar Pradesh

BJP leading in 10 and SP-Congress in 6

8.17 am: Initial trends show BJP leading in 2 constituencies and SP-Congress in 1, BSP in 1, in Uttar Pradesh

8.14 am: The counting of votes for all 40 constituencies of the Goa Assembly begins at two centres in Panaji and Margao. The focus is on whether the BJP will be able to retain power and if it gets a fresh mandate, will Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar return to his home state as chief minister.

8.03 am: Counting of votes begins in Uttar Pradesh

Our correspondent Ashwini Phadnis reports.

Counting for 690 Assembly seats in five states including Uttar Pradesh (403 seats), Punjab (117 seats) and Uttrakhand (70 seats) is underway. Goa (40 seats) and Manipur (60 seats) are the other two states where counting has started.

While UP saw a seven phase elections and Manipur conducted elections in two phases the elections in the other three States were a one day affair. The counting of votes today brings down the curtains on a process which started on January 4 when the Election Commission announced the schedule for polling in the five states.

The polling in all the five states passed off largely peacefully with record seizures of cash, liquor and gold and silver.

The current Assembly elections are the first after the Narendra Modi Government’s demonetisation move in November last year. A total of 13.85 crore voters were eligible to cast their votes in over 1.47 lakh polling stations in UP, while 1.92 crore voters were eligible to cast their votes in over 22,000 polling stations in Punjab and over 73 lakh voters were eligible to cast their votes in over 10,800 polling stations in Uttrakhand.

The state elections have seen the Congress and Samajwadi Party form an alliance to try their fortunes in Uttar Pradesh while the Bharatiya Janata Party is in alliance with the Akali Dal in Punjab.

The Prime Minister campaigned extensively spending a few days in his Parliamentary Constituency Varanasi which went to polls in the seventh and last phase of elections in Uttar Pradesh.

In what is being called a “semi-final” before the general elections in 2019, these assembly elections also saw the Aam Admi Party moving out of Delhi and contesting in Punjab and Goa.