The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has taken an unassailable lead in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and is likely to retain power in Goa and Manipur, according to the broader trends that were available by 8:30 pm on March 10 -- around 12 hours after the Election Commission began the counting of votes.
In Punjab, which was one of the country's three states where the Congress was in power, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will form the next government. The EC has declared the final results, with the Arvind Kejriwal-led party winning 92 out of the 117 seats, the Congress being reduced to 18, the Shiromani Akali Dal shrinking to 2 and the Bharatiya Janata Party managing to bag only 2 seats.
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In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP was declared the winner in 182 constituencies, and had taken a lead in 71 others, as per the latest trends. In all, the party was ahead in 253 seats. Apna Dal (Soneylal), its ally, was declared the winner in 7 seats and was ahead in 5 (total 12). Nishad Party, another NDA constituent, had won 2 seats and was leading in 5 others (total 7).
Cumulatively, the BJP-led alliance was ahead in 272 out of the 403 constituencies, at the time of writing this report.
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The Samajwadi Party, which has emerged as the prime opposition, was declared the winner in 66 constituencies and was ahead in 46 others (120), its ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) has won 7 and was ahead in 1 constituency (8), and another coalition partner - Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) won 2 and was ahead in 4 others (6). In all, the coalition was ahead in 134 seats, as per the broader trends available at 8 pm.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which was last in power in UP from between 2007 and 2012, has failed to open its account so far in this elections. The party was leading in only one constituency. The Congress was declared the winner in two seats and was not leading in any other constituency.
In Uttarakhand, the ruling BJP was declared the winner in 41 seats and leading in 6 others (47) at the time of writing this report. The party has cruised above the halfway majority mark of 35. The Congress was declared the winner in 17 seats and was leading in two others (19). The BSP has won 1 constituency, and another seat has been won by an independent candidate.
In Goa, the final results have been declared and the BJP is on the cusp of retaining power. It has won 20 out of the 40 seats, one short of the majority mark. The party said it has received the letter of support from Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), which has won three seats.
In Manipur, the results have been declared in all but five constituencies. The BJP has been declared the winner in 28 out of the 60 constituencies -- three short of the halfway majority mark. But the party is leading in four other seats and is expected to secure a majority by the time the final results are declared. The Congress won 5 seats, Janata Dal (United) 6, Naga Peoples Front 2, National People's Party 6 and others bagged the remaining 5.
Notably, the assembly elections in the five states were held in seven phases between February 10 and March 7. The BJP was in power in four of these five states - UP, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.
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