Before vote count, parties count on healthy federal ties

However, while the BJP is the lead, by and large polls are predicting a hung house scenario in all states. If the results on 11 March do turn out as predicted by exit polls, expect the markets to rise and possibly even breach previous historical levels. He has created a class coalition as much as a caste coalition in Uttar Pradesh.

CVoter is a little more conservative, giving the BJP between 155 and 167 seats. Sikh politics is unlikely to change despite the defeat of the Akalis this time around; the humiliating nature of the defeat may also be because many BJP voters could have switched to Congress this time to keep AAP out. Here is what the figures say. Some political pundits in Manipur have given a clear mandate to O. Ibobi, coming to power with a thumping majority.

In the fourth phase that covered most of the Bundelkhand region, we also saw the resurgence of the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party that had begun quite well in the first phase in four-cornered contests in western Uttar Pradesh.

How BSP is gaining vote share but losing seats vis-a-vis pre poll?

Its said exit polls give direction, but that is clearly missing.

BJP is all set to sweep Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections as per early trends. The SP-Congress alliance is projected to win between 88-112 and BSP ending up with a poor third with a prediction of 28-42 seats.

The exit polls on Thursday did not give any clear indication about who would take the maximum number of seats.

BJP candidates are leading in 98 seats followed by 58 seats for the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance. The BJP and the Congress are projected to finish neck and neck with 32 seats each in the 70-member assembly. In the event of the polls throwing a hung assembly in UP, post-poll re-alignments of political forces could not be ruled out.

Punjab could be in for a neck-and-neck fight between the Congress and the AAP while the ruling SAD-BJP may face a drubbing, according to pollsters.

Chief Minister Harish Rawat, who faced an all-round attack from the BJP and many of his old associates who switched to the saffron camp ahead of the polls in February, exuded confidence of winning the elections again.

In the 40-member legislative assembly, BJP could get between 15 and 21 seats.

The Aam Aadmi Party, which is seeking a national footprint and was expected to do well in Punjab, was leading in 5 seats.

Results were scheduled to be announced Saturday. “There is still a lot of time for the elections to come and whether we contest in all the seats or selected seats in a collision, a pre-polls alliance with likeminded parties, this is something which only time will tell”.