Assembly election results 2018 LIVE: Counting of votes to get underway shortly
New Delhi, Dec 10: It has been dubbed as the big semi-final ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Elections were held in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram.
The exits polls have thrown up mixed results. As is said in cricket that one cannot predict anything until the last ball is bowled. This is the same in the case of the elections as well. Whatever the result may be, it would give the winning party the edge ahead of 2019. Who will rule the roost at the end of it?
Find out more here as we bring you all the updates LIVE:
Counting of votes to get underway shortly. The process would begin with the counting of the postal votes.
The Chief Electoral Officer has said that there will be no webcasting during the counting of votes. He has also directed that Wifi will not be used in the counting hall and CCTV cameras will be installed.
A hung verdict in Chhattisgarh will make the Ajit Jogi-Mayawati group kingmakers.
Mizoram could vote out the Congress, but the verdict appears to be a hung one as per exit polls. The MNF is likely to emerge as the single largest party.
Counting of votes will get underway shortly. It is no doubt a high stake battle and would be interesting to see who will emerge victorious.
In Rajasthan, the Congress is hoping to overthrow the BJP led by Vasundhara Raje. A total of 2274 candidates were in the fray for the 199 Assembly seats. The Congress party had fielded its candidates in 195 seats, the BJP on 199 seats, the BSP on 189 seats, NCP on 1 seat, CPI on 16 and CPI-M on 28 seats. As many as 830 candidates were independents while 817 candidates were from non-registered parties.
Madhya Pradesh witnessed an increase in the voter turnout with a record 75 per cent voters turning up at polling stations to exercise their franchise. The BJP is eyeing a fourth straight term in Madhya Pradesh while the Congress is hoping for a comeback after 15 years in the state, which was once its stronghold.
Most of the exit polls for Madhya Pradesh have predicted a neck-and-neck race between the ruling BJP and the Congress party. Agencies like Jan Ki Baat, C Voter and Pace Media have suggested that both the parties may get numbers nearing the halfway mark, suggesting major political drama after the results are declared on December 11.
In Telangana, most exit polls have predicted a win for the TRS. India Today - Axis My India exit poll has predicted 79 to 91 seats for KC Rao-led TRS (Telangana Rashtra Samithi) in Telangana, 21 to 33 for Congress, 1 to 3 for BJP. The exit poll has projected 4 to 7 seats for others, including AIMIM.
According to the exit poll conducted by Jan Ki Baat, TRS is getting 57 seats, Congress 45, AIMIM 6 and BJP 5 seats. Times Now-CNX exit poll has predicted the TRS to get 66 seats, Congress to get 37, BJP to get 7 and others including AIMIM will get 9.
In the 2014 elections, TRS emerged victorious with 63 Assembly seats and 11 out of 17 Lok Sabha seats. K Chandrashekar Rao took the oath as the first Chief Minister of Telangana on June 2, 2014. Out of 119, 88 were General Category candidates, 19 SC and 12 ST candidates.
The battle at Chhattisgarh would be an interesting one. Many exit polls have suggested a win for the Congress. However there were some that backed the BJP. How much of a factor will the Ajit Jogi factor play. You will get to know in a few hours from now.
The Congress according to exit polls is set to lose out on Mizoram. This is symbolic as this is the last citadel of the grand old party in the North East. All exit polls have given the MNF the edge.