From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: Exit polls are predicting two strikes out of three in the heartland states for the BJP and one for the Congress. While Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel gets to retain his job, his counterpart in Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot, might just lose his, they indicate. There also seems little doubt that In Madhya Pradesh will go to the BJP — again.
The biggest upset, though, could be reserved for Telangana, where K Chandrasekhar Rao’s Bharat Rashtra Samithi has been in power since the inception of the state in 2014. Three exit polls seem to be in no doubt that the BRS will be replaced by the Congress in this election. A fourth is also giving the Congress an edge.
For Mizoram, two exit polls feel a hung house could be on the cards. The ruling Mizo National Front in Mizoram is working diligently to ward off challenges from both Congress and Zoram People’s Movement.
Exit polls, though, can often get it wrong. The correct results will be out on Sunday when the actual counting takes place. An exit poll is a survey that is conducted by the media outfits immediately after people have voted for their respective candidates. These elections are crucial as they are taking place months before the Lok Sabha elections scheduled for April-May next year.
Rajasthan, which routinely votes out the incumbent since early ’90s, is apparently sticking to the trend. Two of three exit polls have predicted a clear victory for the BJP — a third predicts the margin could be slim. Since 1998 — that is, in 25 years — no political party has retained power in Rajasthan. Also, since then, the state has seen only two chief ministers — Ashok Gehlot from the Congress and Vasundhara Raje from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two held the post alternatively.
Six exit polls on Chhattisgarh by and large, predict a second term for Bhupesh Baghel of the Congress, with the number of seats allotted to the party staying within the margin of early 40s to mid-50s. The majority mark in the 90-seat state is 46.
India Today- Axis My India is predicting that Congress could win 40-50 of the state’s 90 seats. Jan Ki Baat is predicting 34-45 seats for the BJP and 42-53 seats for the Congress.
The seventh — News 24-Today’s Chanakya, is predicting 33 seats for the BJP and 57 for the Congress.
Madhya Pradesh, where the Congress won in 2018 but had its government collapse in 2018, is apparently proving tricky to predict. Only one of the three exit polls indicate that the Congress – in an outer margin — could hit the halfway mark in the 230-seat state.
Jan ki Baat is predicting 100-123 seats for the BJP, Republic TV- Matrize is giving it 118-130 and TV 9 Bharatvarsh- Polstrat is saying the party could win 106-116 seats. Dainik Bhaskar alone predicts 105-120 seats to Congress as against BJP’s 95-115 in the 230-seat Assembly.
