Exit polls: Congress, AAP neck-and-neck in Punjab, SAD-BJP out

Chandigarh, March 9

Punjab, which witnessed a triangular contest in the Assembly polls, 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.

Exit polls released ahead of the March-11 counting predict the SAD-BJP combine, which has been ruling the state for 10 years, could be struggling to get even into double-digit in the 117-member House due to multiple factors including the anti-incumbency.

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While India Today-Axis exit polls gave 62-71 seats to the Congress and 42-51 to AAP, India TV-C Voter projected 41-49 for the Congress and 59-67 seats for the AAP.

India News-MRC and News 24-Chanakya forecast a dead heat giving 55 to the Congress and 54 to the AAP.

It the NDTV poll of polls, an average of several exit polls, Congress was predicted to win 55 seats, closely followed by the AAP with 54 seats. The incumbent Akali Dal-BJP alliance was predicted staring at a virtual decimation with only 7 seats in the 117-member assembly.

The Assembly elections to five states — Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa — concluded today after polling in Karanprayag (Uttarakhand) and Alapur (UP) constituencies was held.

As per the exit polls, the BJP is likely to gain in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Manipur.

The ruling Akali Dal-BJP alliance in Punjab was reduced to single digit tally in all exit polls.

Away from the hustle and bustle of the exit polls, the SAD-BJP alliance is confident of defying the pollsters "like in 2012", when it proved the surveys wrong.

89-year-old Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal claimed the combine would win 72 seats.

As for Congress, Amarinder Singh claimed it would win 65 seats and the AAP exuded confidence of bagging close to 100.

The state went to polls in single phase on February 4 and recorded 78.60 per cent polling against 78.57 per cent in the 2012 polls.

1,145 candidates are in the fray, 81 of whom are female and one transgender.

"The counting of votes will take place on Saturday (March 11) for which all necessary preparations have been made," an election office spokesman said here today.

It was a record for the state when the SAD (with BJP) came back to power in 2012 as no party had ever been given two consecutive terms.

Since reorganisation of Punjab in 1966, the Congress and the SAD have been ruling the state alternately. The SAD-BJP alliance formed the government for the first time in 2007 and retained majority in 2012.

This time around, while the SAD is contesting 94 seats the BJP is 23. The Congress has contested all the seats.

The AAP and its ally Lok Insaf Party, led by the Bains brothers of Ludhiana, are fighting 112 and 5 seats, respectively. — PTI 

Here are the exit polls for 5 states:

PUNJAB (TOTAL SEATS: 117)

NewsX-MRC exit poll

Congress: 55

AAP: 55

SAD-BJP: 7

Today’s Chanakya-News 24 exit poll

Congress: 54 (+/-9)

AAP: 54 (+/-9)

SAD-BJP: 9 (+/-5) 

India Today-Axis

Cong: 62-71

AAP: 45-51

Akali: 4-7

India TV-C voter

Cong: 41-49

AAP: 59-67

Akali: 5-13

POLL OF POLLS FOR PUNJAB

Cong: 55

AAP: 54

Akali: 7

Others 1

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UTTAR PRADESH (403)

NewsX-MRC exit poll

BJP: 185

SP-Cong: 120

BSP: 90

Others: 8

Times Now-VMR

BJP: 190-210

SP-Cong: 110-130

BSP: 57-74 

Others: 8

ABP News-Lokniti

BJP: 164-176

SP-Cong: 156-169

BSP: 60-72

Others: 2-6

India TV-C Voter

BJP: 155-167

SP-Cong: 135-147

BSP: 81-93 

Others: 8-20

POLL OF POLLS FOR UTTAR PRADESH 

BJP: 179

SP-Cong: 136

BSP: 77 

Others: 11

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Today’s Chanakya-News 24 exit poll

BJP: 53 (+/-7)

Congress: 15 (+/-7) 

Independent: 2 (+/-2) 

India Today-Axis

BJP: 46-53

Cong: 12-21

Others: 2-6

India TV-C voter

BJP: 29-35

Cong: 29-35

Others: 2-9

POLL OF POLLS FOR UTTARAKHAND

BJP: 45

Cong: 21

Others: 4

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GOA (40)

NewsX-MRC exit poll

BJP: 15

Cong: 10

AAP: 7

Others: 6

Mag: 2

India Today Axis

BJP: 18-22

Cong: 9-13

AAP: 0-2

Others: 4-9

India TV-C Voter

BJP: 15-21

Cong: 12-18

AAP: 0-4

Others: 2-8 

POLL OF POLLS FOR GOA

MANIPUR (60)

India TV-C Voter exit poll

Congress: 17-23

BJP: 25-31

Others: 9-15

India Today-Axis

Congress: 30-36

BJP: 16-22

Others:3-5

POLL OF POLLS FOR MANIPUR

Congress: 26

BJP: 24

Others:10