Exit polls: TRS in Telangana\, Cong in Raj; close race in MP\, Chhattisgarh

Exit polls: TRS in Telangana, Cong in Raj; close race in MP, Chhattisgarh

Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Telangana and Chhattisgarh have gone to the polls, with the result to be declared on Dec 11. Catch the Assembly elections 2018 exit polls live here

BS Web Team  |  New Delhi 

First time voters show their fingers marked with indelible ink after casting votes for the Assembly elections, at a polling station in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Photo: PTI
First time voters show their fingers marked with indelible ink after casting votes for the Assembly elections, at a polling station in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Photo: PTI

Exit polls on Friday predicted a tight finish between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and a win for the Opposition party in Rajasthan. They also predicted that K Chandrashekar Rao's ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in Telangana will retain power.

TV exit polls were predicting the five-state elections, results of which may be a preview of next year's Lok Sabha polls and are seen by some as a test of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity. 

Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram voted on November 28; Rajasthan and Telangana on December 7, and Chhattisgarh went to the polls in two phases on November 12 and 20. The results for all the five Assembly elections will be declared on December 11.


Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan are traditional BJP strongholds with large agrarian electorates. Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are among India's top 10 states on the World Bank's ease of doing business ranking. In all, they represent one-sixth of the country's voters, reported Bloomberg News.


October opinion polls favoured the BJP in Madhya Pradesh, suggesting it may be close to a majority in the 230-seat Assembly. In Rajasthan, which has seen farmer anger against the ruling BJP administration, surveys suggest Congress could win between 102 and 142 seats in the state's 200-member legislature.  
Exit polls: TRS in Telangana, Cong in Raj; close race in MP, Chhattisgarh

Telangana   1) Exit polls were almost unanimous in predicting that TRS president and Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao's gamble of advancing the Assembly polls will pay off and he will retain power.   2) Republic TV and Times Now forecast that his party will 50-65 and 66 seats in the 119-member Assembly.   3) TV9 Telugu and India Today forecast a tally between 75-85 and 75-91 for the ruling party, respectively.   4) Some exit polls saw a tighter battle between the TRS and the Congress-TDP combine. 

Exit polls: TRS in Telangana, Cong in Raj; close race in MP, Chhattisgarh

Rajasthan   1) If exit polls differed in their projections for Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, most of them predicted the Congress' return to power in Rajasthan.   2) India Today-Axis said the opposition party may win 119-141 out of 199 seats for which elections were held. The BJP, it added, may win 55-72 seats.   3) Times Now-CNX forecast 105 seats for the Congress and 85 for the BJP.   4) Republic TV-Jan Ki Baat forecast a tighter race between the two parties. It gave the Congress and the BJP 81-101 and 83-103 seats, respectively. 

Exit polls: TRS in Telangana, Cong in Raj; close race in MP, Chhattisgarh

Chhattisgarh   1) In the 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly, exit polls broadcast by Republic-C Voter predicted 35-43 seats for the BJP and 40-50 for the Congress, while the News Nation forecast a close race with 38-42 seats for the BJP and 40-44 for the Congress.   2) Times Now-CNX gave a simple majority to the BJP in Chhattisgarh, saying it may win 46 seats while the opposition Congress may bag 35 seats.    3) ABP News said the BJP may get up to 52 seats against 35 of the Congress.   4) India Today-Axis predicted the Congress is set to end Chief Minister Raman Singh's 15-year old reign by winning anywhere between 55-65 seats. The BJP, it said, may be reduced to 21-31 seats. 

Exit polls: TRS in Telangana, Cong in Raj; close race in MP, Chhattisgarh

Madhya Pradesh   1) While Republic TV-Jan Ki Baat gave 108-128 seats to the BJP and 95-115 to the Congress in the 230-member Madhya Pradesh, India Today-Axis said the saffron party could win 102-120 seats as against 104-122 for the Congress.   2) The Times Now-CNX exit poll predicted a majority for the BJP in MP with 126 seats and gave the Congress a tally of 89 seats.   3) ABP News exit poll said the Congress is likely to get a majority by bagging 126 seats. The BJP, it added, would get 94 seats. 

Exit polls: TRS in Telangana, Cong in Raj; close race in MP, Chhattisgarh

Summing it up:   Exit polls on Friday predicted a tight finish between the BJP and the Congress in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and a win for the Opposition party in Rajasthan. (Read more here) 

Exit polls: TRS in Telangana, Cong in Raj; close race in MP, Chhattisgarh

At 7:08 pm, NDTV poll of exit polls shows it's a close race between the BJP and the Congress in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh 

Exit polls: TRS in Telangana, Cong in Raj; close race in MP, Chhattisgarh

Rajasthan elections 2018: NDTV poll of exit polls seat projection for Rajasthan at 5:55 pm:    Congress and its allies projected to win 112 seats BJP projected to win 78 seats BSP projected to win zero seats   

Exit polls: TRS in Telangana, Cong in Raj; close race in MP, Chhattisgarh

Telangana elections 2018: NDTV poll of exit polls at 7 pm predicts 69 seats for TRS, 37 for Congress and its allies, and 4 for the BJP 

Exit polls: TRS in Telangana, Cong in Raj; close race in MP, Chhattisgarh

Madhya Pradesh elections 2018: NDTV poll of exit polls shows BJP leading with 110 seats, while Congress is projected to win 108 seats and the BSP 2 seats

Exit polls: TRS in Telangana, Cong in Raj; close race in MP, Chhattisgarh

Telangana: TRS expected to win 79 to 91 seats in the 119-member House, projects India Today-Axis My India poll

Exit polls: TRS in Telangana, Cong in Raj; close race in MP, Chhattisgarh

Telangana elections 2018: TRS is in the lead with 69 seats, shows NDTV poll of exit polls at 6:35 pm
First Published: Fri, December 07 2018. 17:50 IST