The Uttarakhand-ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may emerge as the first party to retain power in the hill-state, as the exit polls on March 7 showed the party holds the edge in the recently-contested assembly elections.
According to the Times Now-Veto exit poll, the BJP is likely to win 37 seats -- one above the halfway majority mark. The Congress, it said, is likely to bag 31 seats, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) 1 and others 1.
The India Today-Axis My India survey predicted 36-46 constituencies for the BJP, 20-30 for the Congress, 0 for the AAP and 4-9 for others.
The Jan Ki Baat survey predicted 32-41 seats for the BJP, followed by 27-35 for the Congress, 0-1 for AAP and 0-4 for others.
The Today's Chanakya survey projected 43 seats for the BJP, whereas, the Congress was expected to secure wins in 24. The exit poll predicted a blank for the AAP and 3 seats for others including independents.
The exit poll released by C-Voter, however, predicted 32-38 seats for the Congress, 26-32 for the BJP, 0-2 for the AAP and 3-7 for others.
According to the ETG Research survey, the BJP is expected to win 37-40, the Congress 29-32, AAP 0-1 and others 0-2.
The P-Marq exit poll predicted 35-39 constituencies for the BJP, 28-34 for the Congress, 0-3 for the AAP and 0-3 for others.
Follow live updates of the exit poll results of all 5 states
"All exit polls are showing that BJP will form government with majority. Some are showing 45 seats, some 47 seats but I believe there will be more seats when the final result is out. People of Uttarakhand have shown faith in us and will form govt," Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami said.
Uttarakhand, one of the five states that went to polls in the assembly elections, primarily witnessed a contest between the ruling BJP and the prime opposition Congress. The Delhi-ruling AAP also led a high-octane campaign in the state.
All 70 assembly segments of the hill state went to polls on February 14.
In the 2017 assembly elections, the BJP had returned to power with a brute mandate, winning 57 out of the 70 seats. The then ruling Congress was reduced to 11 seats, and the then chief minister Harish Rawat lost from both the seats where he contested.
Trivendra Singh Rawat was subsequently named as the chief minister by the BJP, but replaced in March 2021 by Tirath Singh Rawat. Four months later, the party replaced the latter with Pushkar Singh Dhami, the two-time MLA from Khatima.
The Congress, which began regaining electoral strength in Uttarakhand ahead of polls, brought back the 73-year-0ld Harish Rawat as the face of its campaign. The party, however, did not announce a chief ministerial candidate.
The opinion polls released ahead of the elections gave the BJP the edge. The aggregate of major surveys suggested that the saffron party was likely to retain power, but its electoral strength was expected to reduce as compared to 2017.
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