Exit for most, but Mamata; BJP unseats Cong in Assam, Left ahead in Kerala
New Delhi: All exit polls on Monday predicted a saffron alliance sweep in Assam, the gateway to the Northeast. If proven correct, it would be the first time the BJP would hold power in a Northeast state.
Apart from Assam, the exit polls said two more states — Tamil Nadu and Kerala — and the Union Territory of Puducherry had voted for change. West Bengal, exit polls stated, is the only one which may withstand the wave of change sweeping across the states.
The BJP, meanwhile, might open its account in Kerala and add to its lone MLA from Bengal where Today’s Chanakya predicted the saffron party would win as many as 14 seats. After back-to-back electoral defeats in Delhi and Bengal, an electoral victory in Assam will boost the BJP.
In Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, the exit polls indicated the DMK-Congress alliance would return to power in both places. In Kerala, pollsters predicted the Left-led LDF would wrest power from the UDF.
Read: Tamil Nadu: Polls predict Jaya exit
The Congress, which saw hope and revival after the Bihar Assembly election, might slip back into its downward spiral with the exit polls indicating that the party was going to lose power in Assam and Kerala and that its alliance with the Left Front had failed to stop the Trinamul charge to retain power.
Curtains likely on Congress rule
If the pollsters are proved correct on May 19, the day the votes are to be counted, it would be curtains for 15 long years of Congress rule under Mr Tarun Gogoi in Assam.
In West Bengal, even though the Left joined hands with the Congress, Ms Banerjee seems to have emerged stronger by consolidating her hold on the state. The exit poll results came on Monday evening after voting gave over in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Read: TMC happy at exit poll result, alliance confident of success
In Assam, the India Today-Axis-My India poll gave the saffron alliance 79-93 seats in a House of 126. The Congress has been projected to get 26-33 while the AIUDF headed by Mr Badruddin Ajmal is set to get 6-10 seats.
The ABP Ananda poll gave the BJP-led alliance 81 seats, the Congress 33, AIUDF 10 and others 5. Times Now C-Voter projected the BJP as getting 57 seats and Congress 41, while AIUDF and others are set to get 18 and 10, respectively.
Read: Exit polls: BJP unseats Cong in Assam; LDF in Kerala, Mamata retains Bengal
Today’s Chanakya gave BJP an overwhelming 90 seats against Congress’ 27 and AIUDF’s 9. Pollsters predicted that incumbent Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa would lose her state the DMK-Congress alliance.
