Exit polls predict close to clear majority for the party in Haryana and Maharashtra
The BJP’s gamble of going it alone in Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly polls seems to go on the expected line for the party. After high turnout of 64 per cent polling in Maharashtra and 73 per cent in Haryana on Wednesday, exit polls predicted that the BJP will either single-handedly form Governments in both the States or reach very close to the halfway mark.
The exit polls assessed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s whirlwind campaign in both the States will pay rich dividend, as caste and regional factors crumbled before the emphatic slogan of “change” raised by Modi during his ten-day campaign in the two States, where the Congress-led Governments were facing heavy anti-incumbency and corruption charges.
Modi addressed 27 rallies in Maharashtra and 11 in Haryana. The counting of votes will take place on October 19. The BJP shared power in Maharashtra with the Shiv Sena between 1995 and 2000. This will be the first time that the party will come to power in both the States on its own, if the exit polls’ assessment comes true.
The exit polls delivered a crushing blow to the Congress’ hope of regaining ground after the lok Sabha poll debacle. In both the States, the Congress was relegated to third or fourth positions, an indication that party’s vice-president Rahul Gandhi reluctant entry into campaign failed to impact on the fortune of the party candidates.
The exit polls also showed that few could match the political acumen of BJP president Amit Shah, who played a key role in the party’s decision to go alone in both the States.
The Today’s Chanakya exit poll, which had successfully got its tally right in the lok Sabha polls, has given a clear majority for the BJP in Maharashtra and Haryana. Today’s Chanakya exit poll telecast on News24 channel gave the BJP a clear majority with 151 seats in Maharashtra. It placed the Shiv Sena on number two slot with 71 seats, and NCP third with 28 seats. The Congress is predicted to stand a poor fourth with just 27 seats, and the MNS is projected to get 11. In the outgoing Assembly, the BJP had 47 seats, while the Shiv Sena had 45. The Congress had 82 seats, the NCP 62 and the MNS had 12.
According to Today’s Chanakya, BJP’s vote share will rise from 14 per cent in 2009 to 31 per cent now in Maharashtra. Similarly, it also predicted the BJP fetching 31 per cent vote in Haryana as against nine per cent in 2009.
The agency has also projected clear majority for the BJP in Haryana, giving it 52 of the 90 seats. The INlD comes second with 23 seats, the Congress 10 and others 5. In the outgoing Assembly, the Congress had 40 seats, the BJP four, the INlD 31, and the HJC 6. Others had 9 seats. The Congress and the NCP, which ruled Maharashtra for three full terms before they split ahead of the elections, have been projected to lose heavily, while the Shiv Sena is predicted to emerge as the second largest party.
According to C-voter exit poll telecast on Times Now and Zee News channels, the BJP is projected to get 129 out of 288 seats. Its erstwhile ally Shiv Sena is projected to get 56 seats, while the Congress is predicted to bag 43, the NCP 36, the MNS 12 and others 12. For a majority, a party has to get 145 seats.
While the AC Nielson Exit polls for ABP News gave the BJP 127 seats, the Shiv Sena 77, the Congress 40, the NCP 34 and five to the MNS, the India TV exit poll has predicted between 124 to 134 seats to the BJP followed by 51-61 to its former partners Shiv Sena, 38-48 to the Congress, and 31-41to the NCP. The agency gave the MNS and others 9-15 seats.
The C-Voter Exit poll for Haryana has projected 37 seats for the BJP in Haryana, 28 for the INlD, 15 for the Congress, 6 for the Haryana Janhit Congress and 4 for others. The AC Nielson gave 46 to the BJP, the Congress 10, the INlD 29, the HJC two, and others three.
For Maharashtra, the NDTV Poll of Polls has projected 123 seats for the BJP and Shiv Sena is expected to claim 69 seats. While the Congress may come down to 43 seats, its divorced alliance partners NCP is expected to win 35, while the MNS may get eight. For Haryana, NDTV exit poll claimed 45 seats for the BJP followed by 27 for the INlD, the Congress with only 12 seats and the HJC 3.
The India Today-Cicero exit poll has given 117-131 Assembly seats to the BJP in Maharashtra, followed 66-76 to its former alliance partner Shiv Sena. The Congress has been projected to be reduced to 30-40 seats, the NCP is expected to register on 24-34 seats. Another player in the State politics, MNS may win between 4-10 seats, according to the survey telecast on Headlines Today.