The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may not suffer a major jolt in Uttar Pradesh and is likely to overcome from the setbacks it received in the Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat while it is all set to lose the Lok Sabha battle in the southern states, according to the exit poll conducted by Times Now news channel.
In Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP is contesting against the Samajawadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party-Rashtriya Lok Dal alliance and the Congress, the BJP could win 58 seats along with its alliance partner Apana Dal.
According to the Times Now predictions, the NDA may lose 15 seats against 73 in the 2014 polls. The SP-BSP-RLD alliance may get 20 seats, while the Congress could finish with just 2 seats.
The BJP's tally is still seen as a major achievement in the wake of the SP-BSP-RLD upsurge. The caste arithmatic of the alliance seems to have failed while the Congress' hopes of a revival remain a dream for the grand old party despite the efforts put in by Congress Vice President Priyanka Gandhi.
The BJP's loss in Uttar Pradesh will be more or less made up by its performance in a few other states such as West Bengal and Odisha, Times Now predicted.
In a fiercely-fought battle in West Bengal, the BJP is likely to make a gain of 9 seats, taking its tally to 11 as against 2 in 2014. The Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress may win 28 seats, while the Congress and the Left may finish with 2 and 1 seat, respectively.
In the Biju Janata Dal-ruled Odisha, the BJP has been projected to win 12 seats, a big leap from 2014 when it had won just 1 seat. Naveen Patnaik's BJD is likely to win 8 seats while just 1 seat may go the Congress' way.
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In Bihar, the BJP and its alliance partners Janata Dal-United (JDU) and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) are predicted to retain its 2014 tally of 30 seats.
According to the Times Now exit poll, the alliance of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress, Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) and the Vikassheel Insan Party (VIP) is likely to win just 10 seats.
In Maharashtra, the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) alliance appears to have failed in front of the voters. They may get 10 seats while the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance may get 38 seats. In 2014, the BJP and Shiv Sena alliance had bagged 41 seats and the Congress-NCP combine managed six seats.
In the Congress-ruled Punjab, the alliance of BJP and Akali Dal may win three seats while the Congress is likely to bag 10 seats.
In Haryana, the BJP is projected to win 8 seats and the Congress 2.
Out of the seven seats in Delhi, the BJP is expected to win six and the Congress one.
In Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP is expected to win 2 seats while the Congress and its allies are likely to pocket 4 seats.
Times Now predicted that the BJP and its allies may win 21 seats in Rajasthan while 4 seats may go the Congress' way. In 2014, the BJP had swept all the 25 seats in the state.
In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP may win 24 seats while the Congress is likely to win 5. In 2014, the BJP had won 27 seats and the Congress 2.
According to the Times Now exit poll, the BJP may win 7 seats in Chhattisgarh while the Congress is likely to bag 4 seats. In 2014, the BJP won 10 seats in the state while 1 went to the Congress.
In Tamil Nadu, the Congress-led alliance may win 29 seats. It had failed to win any seat in 2014. The alliance of BJP and the AIADMK may get just nine seats against 38 it had won in 2014.
In Puducherry, the AIADMK can win the lone seat, as per the Times Now exit poll.
It also predicted that the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) may sweep Andhra Pradesh with 18 seats with the N. Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP) managing the remaining 7.
The exit poll also predicted clean sweep for the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in Telangana. The TRS and AIMIM together are likely to win 14 of the 17 seats, while the Congress is projected to win two seats and the BJP one.
In Karnataka, the BJP is likely to improved it tally from 17 in 2014 to 20 this time. The exit poll results, if they hold, will be seen as a major blow to the ruling JD(S)-Congress combine. The alliance is likely to win only 7 seats compared to the 11 it had won in 2014.
In Kerala, the Congress-led UDF can win 15 of the 20 seats, an improvement of three seats when compared to 2014.
The news channel also predicted that among the major regional parties, the AIADK may win 7 seats, YSR Congress 18, TRS 13, DMK 23, TDP 7, JD-U 14, Shiv Sena 16, Janata Dal-Secular 1, Shiromani Akali Dal 2 and Biju Janata Dal 8. Others may get 53 seats.
--IANS
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