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Exit polls: BJP to win Gujarat comfortably; dethrone Congress in Himachal

BJP looks all set to retain majority in the 182-seat Gujarat Assembly, clean sweep in Himachal Pradesh

BS Web Team New Delhi
EVM Machines

Last Updated : Dec 15 2017 | 12:37 PM IST

Key Events

7:56 PM

The counting of votes will be taken up on December 18.

7:55 PM

Compilation of Exit Poll surveys for Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh Assembly Elections

There 182 seats in total; a party needs 92 to win
 
India Today-Axis My India: BJP to win 99-113 seats; Congress 68-82 and Others 1-4
 
Times Now VMR: BJP to win 113 seats; Congress 66 and Others 3
 
ABP: BJP to win 117 seats; Congress 64 

Republic-C Voter: BJP to win 108 seats and Congress 74

 
News18 C voters: BJP to win 108 seats and Congress 74 

News X: BJP to win 110-120; Congress 65-75 and Others 2-4

CNN: BJP to win 125 seats; Congress 57 


Zee News Axis: BJP to win 99-113; Congress 68-82 and Others 1

Today’s Chanakya: BJP to win 135 seats; Congress 47

Sahara Samay-CNX: BJP to win 110-120 seats; Congress 65-75  


 

7:54 PM

Compilation of Exit Poll surveys for Himachal Pradesh Assembly Elections
 
There are 68 seats in total; a party needs 35 seats to win
 
India Today-Axis My India: BJP to win between 47 and 55 seats; Congress 13-20 and Others 0-2
 
Times Now: BJP to win 61 seats and Congress 17

Today’s Chanakya: BJP to win 55 seats and Congress 13

TOI Online-CVoter exit poll:  BJP to win with 41 seats, Congress to be reduced to 25 seats 

Sahara Samay-CNX: BJP to win between 42 and 52 seats; Congress 18-24  

7:17 PM

7:14 PM

Recap of pre-poll surveyes conducted before the Phase-I of Gujarat elections:

Three big polls predicted a victory for BJP with an average of 105-106 seats.
 
ABP-CDS poll: The poll conducted this week, among 3,655 voters across 50 Assembly constituencies, gave the BJP 91-99 seats in the 182-member state house and Congress 78-86, suggesting a close fight. 
 
India TV poll: The opinion poll predicts that BJP will bag 106-116 seats, while Congress will win 63-73 seats. Other parties and independents will gain the remaining two-four seats.
 
Times Now-VMR survey: The survey, after conducting 6,000 interviews on 684 polling booths in Gujarat, sees BJP getting 111 seats, Congress polling 68 seats and others gaining three seats. 

7:09 PM

Last night a Congress delegation met EC over several allegations made by them. EC deliberated and wrote to CEO to submit his report by mid-day today, matter is under examination and under due deliberation: Election Commission on Gujarat elections




7:07 PM

Himachal Pradesh elections: Today’s Chanakya says BJP will win 55 seats and Congress a mere 13. 

There are 68 seats in the assembly and the halfway mark is 35. 

7:03 PM

Gujarat elections: India Today-Axis exit poll projects BJP will win 99-113 seats, while Congress is likely to get between 68 and 84 seats.

6:59 PM

Gujarat elections: ABP Exit Poll has now revised the number of seats BJP will win with. From 91-99 earlier, it now predicts a landslide victory for BJP with 117 seats, while Congress will bag 64 and others only 1

6:54 PM

We are going to get 150 seats: Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, reported Hindustan Times


6:52 PM

NDTV Poll for Himachal Pradesh (68 seats): BJP — 49, Congress — 18
 
 

6:49 PM

NDTV's prediction for Gujarat polls: BJP — 112 seats; Congress — 70; Others — 0

6:44 PM

68.70% voting recorded in second phase of polling in Gujarat Assembly Elections, slightly lower than the 2012 turnout.

6:37 PM

BJP's "bankruptcy" exposed in Gujarat, says Rahul Gandhi

Opposition leaders, including those from the Congress, NCP, Trinamool Congress (TMC), Samajwadi Party (SP), RJD, National Conference and the Left parties, met on the eve of the winter session of Parliament to discuss key issues to be raised in Parliament. 
 
It was "indeed shocking" that the Election Commission had failed to uphold its constitutional mandate, the leaders said in a statement. 
 
Instead of taking action for violations, the poll panel had allowed violations by the ruling party. 

Click HERE to read more

6:32 PM

Electronic Voting Machines being sealed after conclusion of voting


The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) looks all set to get a majority in the 182-seat Gujarat Assembly, elections for which were conducted in two phases on December 9 and 14, show exit polls. The party is also expected to wrest power from the Congress in Himachal Pradesh, where Assembly election was held late last month.

While Today’s Chanakya gave a maximum of 135 seats to the BJP  in the 182-member Gujarat Assembly, the lowest of 99-113 was given by India Today-Axis exit poll in the state which has been ruled by the party for the past 22 years. As for Congress, they predicted 47 seats and 68-82 seats, respectively.

The Times Now and India-TV VMR have given the BJP 113 of the 182 seats in Gujarat – comfortably ahead of the majority mark of 92 seats – while the Congress is seen bagging 66 seats and others three. According to the ABP-CSDS Lokniti exit poll, the BJP is expected to get 117 seats, and the Congress 64 seats.

The CNN-News18 exit poll by well-known psephologist Surjit Bhalla predicts the BJP to get way ahead of the majority mark, with 125 seats in Gujarat, and the Congress to be limited to only 57. The predictions by Arnab Goswami’s Republic TV suggest the BJP, which has been in power in Gujarat for over, would get 108 seats, while the Congress would bag 74. 

As per the NewsX exit polls, the BJP is expected to win 110-120 seats while Congress will get 60-65 seats.

BJP headed for clean sweep in Himachal Pradesh

Another state that went to the polls recently, Himachal Pradesh, seems to be set for another big BJP win, if the exit polls are anything to go by. An aggregate of six exit polls by the media houses, including Zee News-Axis, Aaj Tak, News Nation, News X, Samay CNX and Times Now-VMR shows the BJP winning elections in Himachal Pradesh.

In the 68-seat Assembly, the BJP is seen getting 41 seats and the ruling Congress getting reduced to 25, according to the ToI Online-CVoter exit poll. Most say the BJP will win over 49 of the 68 assembly seats up for grabs in the hill state.

The India Today-Axis exit poll gives an even bigger majority to the BJP in Himachal Pradesh, with 47-55 seats, and the Congress is seen limited to 13-20 seats. The Sahara Samay-CNX prediction is similar, with 42-52 seats for the BJP and 18-24 for the Congress. 

Polling for the second phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections in 93 constituencies ended on Thursday with a 68.4 voter turnout percentage. The first phase of the polls was held on December 9 for 89 assembly seats.

Exit polls are usually seen as an indicator of the polling trends.

The Gujarat election is seen as a "prestige battle" for Prime Minister Modi and a litmus test for the leadership of Congress president-elect Rahul Gandhi. In the 2012 assembly polls, the BJP had won 115 seats while the Congress bagged 61. The votes will be counted on December 18.

First Published: Dec 14 2017 | 8:30 PM IST