Gujarat Election Results 2017: BJP crosses halfway mark, but Congress not a distant second

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures as he addresses his supporters during an election campaign meeting ahead of the second phase of Gujarat state assembly elections, in Nadiad, India December 11, 2017. REUTERS/Amit Dave - RC1469DFBF40

Early trends from the 2017 Gujarat Election results place the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress neck and neck in the state. This follows an early lead for the saffron party in Gujarat.

At 10:30 am, the BJP  was leading 104 seats against Congress' 75 constituencies in contrast to 8:35 am, when the BJP was leading in 58 seats while the Congress was leading in 32 assembly constituencies.

The majority mark — 92 seats — has now been crossed by the BJP.

For latest 2017 Gujarat Election result updates, click here.

Media reports suggest that BJP's early leads came from seats that the party already held such as Gandhinagar (South). The Congress was trailing in most Patidar constituencies.

The Congress had made inroads into Junagadh, Porbandar and southern Saurashtra seats, many of which were held by the BJP earlier.

Congress candidate Jivabhai Ambalal Patel was leading in Mehsana constituency, against Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was trailing in the Rajkot (west) constituency, where he was expected to face a tough fight.

Congress, on the other hand, is leading in Abdasa constituency in Kutch, Sidhpur seat where senior Congress leader Jaynarayan Vyas is contesting and Patan seat, which was once held by former Chief Minister Anandiben Patel. Most of congress' leads were in Saurashtra-Kutch and south Saurashtra regions.

For in-depth analysis of the Assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, click here.

The exit polls had suggested that the BJP was likely to retain the state while the Congress would replicate its performance from 21.

The counting began at 8 am on Monday in 37 centres across Gujarat’s 33 districts. The assembly polling happened in two phases on December 9 and 14. The voter turnout during the polls had dipped from 72 percent in 2012 to 68.4 percent.