Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress is set to retain power in West Bengal, all exit polls, except two, indicated after the month-long, eight-phase Assembly polls ended on Thursday.
Apart from the Axis My India-India Today and the Republic-CNX exit polls, which gave the BJP an edge in the battleground state, all other surveys, including the CVoter Exit Poll for Times Now/ABP News, forecast a third victory for the Trinamool, putting it ahead in the 294-member Assembly.
However, the survey of Axis My India-India Today, whose predictions in the 2019 Assembly elections had shown the immense BJP gains in the state, again gave the party its first-ever victory in the state polls.
According to it, the BJP could end with 134-160 seats, the Trinamool with 130-156, and the Left with a mere 0-2. On the other hand, the P-MARQ survey gave the Trinamool 152-172 seats, the BJP 112-132, and the Left 10-20. The NewsX-Polstrat gave the Trinamool 152-162 and the BJP 111-125 seats.
The ETG Research poll gave Banerjee’s party 164-176, the BJP 105-115 and the Left 10-15 seats. CVoter gave Trinamool 152-164, the BJP 109-121 and the Left 14-25.
The Republic-CNX poll, however, showed a BJP victory, giving it 138-148 seats, with 128-132 for the Trinamool and 11-21 for the Left.
Puducherry:
The NDA led by the AINRC in Puducherry is set to win the Assembly elections in the Union Territory with a clear majority.
According to the CVoter Exit Poll for Times Now/ABP News, the projected seat variation for the 30-member Puducherry Assembly for the NDA is 19 to 23 seats, well over the majority mark, while the UPA is likely to win 6 to 10 seats. Others are projected to win a maximum of 2 seats.
Tamil Nadu:
A post-poll survey shows that the DMK-Congress alliance will return to power in Tamil Nadu with a clear majority.
The CVoter Exit Poll for Times Now/ABP News shows that the DMK-led alliance is projected to secure 160 to 172 seats in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly.
The ruling AIADMK-led alliance, of which BJP is also part, is expected to win 58 to 70 seats in Tamil Nadu.
Kerala:
The Left Democratic Front (LDF) led by Kerala chief minister Pinaryi Vijayan is poised to make a comeback to power in the state for the second time in a row, but not with a thumping majority though.
According to the CVoter Exit Poll for Times Now/ABP News, it’s a straight forward electoral battle between the incumbent LDF and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF).
As per the CVoter Exit Poll for Times Now/ABP News, the Left alliance is expected to win 71 to 77 seats, with 71 being the majority mark. The main opposition – the UDF – is likely to secure 62 to 68 seats.
The NDA will continue to remain a marginal player in the state with 0 to 2 seats.