Meghalaya Election result 2018: Congress leads but still may not form government

NEW DELHI: Counting is underway in the Congress-ruled Meghalaya went to the polls on February 27 to elect members for the 60-seat Assembly. Voting was held in 59 constituencies though, as the election was countermanded at Williamnagar following the killing of the NCP candidate in a blast on February 18. Here are real-time highlights as the results roll in:

* The vote is basically against the Congress if you see the performance of other parties. Leaders will discuss if there can be possibility of a post poll alliance: Nalin Kohli, BJP Meghalaya incharge.

* In Meghalaya a divided result is a possibility, we will see that a non-Congress government is formed there. Himanta Biswa Sarma is leaving for Meghalaya shortly: Ram Madhav.

* With the NPP ahead in 13 seats, the BJP in 8 and 'Others' in 10, it's looking difficult for the Congress which is ahead in 21 seats.

* As per latest trends, Meghalaya may be heading for non-Congress rule. Conrad Sangma of the National People's Party (NPP), told reporters he's open to an alliance with the BJP. The NPP is leading in 14 seats, the BJP in 6, and the 'Others' category in 12 seats.

* The Congress retains its lead with 24 seats. The NPP is close second with 17 seats. BJP is nowhere in the contest.

* The BJP, leading on only 5 seats, has been relegated to fourth position. The 'others' category has surged past the saffron party with leads on 14 seats.

* The Congress stretches its lead over the NPP and the BJP. The party now leads in 25 seats.

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* As per inputs from agencies, Congress has hurriedly dispatched senior leaders Ahmed Patel and Kamal Nath to Shillong to counter BJP which is looking for a post poll alliance with UDP to form government in the state.

* The NPP is slowly closing the gap between it and the Congress. It is now ahead in 16 seats to Congress' 20 seats.

* The Congress is quickly racing towards the majority mark of 31 seats. It now leads in 20 seats. The NPP and the BJP are stuck at 9 and 5 seats respectively for quite some time now.

* Tables have completely turned. The Congress has now gone past the NPP with leads in 15 seats. The BJP is ahead on 5 seats as of 9:25 am.

* Triangular contest on between the NPP, the Congress and the BJP; with the NPP looking set to be the single largest party in the state in next half an hour, as per experts.

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* The NPP leads in 9 seats with the Congress coming next at 7 as of 8:50 am. The BJP comes third with leads in only 3 seats so far.

* The Congress is ahead in 4 seats, the BJP is ahead in 3 seats. The UDP+is ahead in two.

* The BJP and the Congress are leading in 3 seats each. The UDP+ alliance is ahead in one.

* The Congress has taken an early lead in one seat.

* Counting began at 8 am.

* The Congress is currently in power in the state in what is a second consecutive term.

* The Congress's main competition here is the National People's Party (NPP). The NPP is in alliance with the Naga People's Front (NPF) and the JD (U).

* The BJP is in an alliance here with the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP). Another front here is the partnership of the United Democratic Party (UDP) with the Hill State People's Democratic Party (HSPDP), and a few others.

* Interestingly, the NPP and JD(U) are BJP's partners at the Centre.

* JanKiBaat-NewsX exit poll shows that the NPP is set to gain with 23-27 seats while the BJP will get 8-12 seats, with vote shares of 39 and 12 per cent respectively. The Congress is predicted to win 13-17 seats with a vote share of 21 per cent and others are likely to get 2 to 6 seats.

* The CVoter exit poll predicts a close finish, with the Congress likely to get 13-19 seats and the NPP 17 to 23 seats, with vote shares of 36.5 and 29.4 per cent respectively. It gives the BJP 4-8 seats.

With inputs from ANI