As per the early trends in UP, the saffron party was leading on 155 seats and AAP ahead with 90 seats in Punjab, reports Asian Lite News
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party are set to script history in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab respectively. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath became the first BJP chief minister of the state to be elected for a second term in the country’s largest and most populous state.
As per the early trends in Uttar Pradesh, the saffron party was leading on 155 seats while Samajwadi Party was ahead on 97. The Bahujan Samaj Party didn’t seem to woo the voters, as it was leading on only 6 seats. The Congress party continued to show its dismal performance and was leading on only 4 seats.
The Assembly polls for 403 seats spread over 75 districts were held in seven phases between February 10 and March 7. More than 3.75 lakh voters exercised their franchise using ballot papers. The state’s Chief Electoral Officer Ajay Kumar Shukla said that 84 counting centres had been set up across Uttar Pradesh.
AAP sweep in Punjab
In Punjab, the multi-cornered electoral battle is probably heading for a comfortable victory for the AAP as the early trends gave an edge to the Bhagwant Mann-led party over the ruling Congress. The Shiromani Akali Dal was coming as the third party.
The exit polls had predicted a landslide victory for the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab. A total of 1,304 candidates, including 93 women and two transgenders, are in the fray. The state recorded a voter turnout of 71.95 per cent, the lowest percentage compared to the voting percentage in three previous Assembly polls.
Prominent faces who were trailing in the first two hours of counting of ballots included five-time former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal from his bastion Lambi; Congress chief ministerial candidate and incumbent Charanjit Singh Channi on both seats — Chamkaur Sahib, a reserved seat that he has won three consecutive times, and Bhadaur in Barnala district; and Congress state unit chief Navjot Sidhu from Amritsar (East), the seat that came into being after 2012 delimitation and has backed Sidhu and his namesake wife — Navjot Kaur.
Congress rebel Capt Amarinder Singh, whose fledgling Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) is contesting the polls in alliance with the BJP and SAD (Sanyukt), is trailing from his ‘royal’ bastion Patiala (Urban).
AAP’s chief ministerial face and sitting MP Bhagwant Mann is leading from Dhuri, the seat from where he’s trying luck for the first time.
Sanyukt Samaj Morcha chief and its chief ministerial face Balbir Singh Rajewal is also trailing in Samrala. AAP’s first-timer Jagtar Singh is leading on that seat.
Counting for the 117 Assembly constituencies started at 8 a.m. Postal ballots were counted first.
A three-tier security system has been put in place.
The polls for the 117 Assembly constituencies were held on February 20 and a total 1,54,69,618 voters exercised their right to franchise.
The election results can be obtained from the official website of CEO Punjab — ceopunjab.gov.in or results.eci.gov.in. Also, results can also be obtained from voter helpline mobile application.
As per exit polls, the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP is emerging as a major contender, while the Congress is struggling hard to retain power.
In the 2017 elections, the Congress had won an absolute majority by winning 77 seats in the 117-member assembly and ousted the SAD-BJP government after 10 years.
The AAP had emerged as the second-largest party, winning 20 seats.
SAD won 15 seats, while the BJP, which had a coalition government with the Akali Dal in Punjab from 2007 to 2017, secured three seats.
Goa set for close finish
In Goa, the exit polls had tipped a keen contest between the ruling BJP and the Congress and Goa Forward alliance, with neither being able to reach the magic figure of 21 in a 40-member state Assembly. However, the trends showed the grand-old party — Congress — ahead of its arch-rival BJP while the much-hyped AAP, as per the early trends, didn’t seem to impress the electorate at all as it was not leading on any seat.
Nearly 79 per cent voters cast ballots in the February 14 polls in Goa.
BJP landslide in Manipur
In Manipur, as per the early trends, the saffron party is heading for a landslide victory. According to the election officials, around 89.3 per cent of the 20,48,169-strong electorate cast their votes in the two-phase election to the 60-member Manipur Assembly on February 28 and March 5. This year’s voting percentage was higher than the 2017 and 2012 Assembly elections, when 86.4 per cent and 79.5 per cent electorate had exercised their franchise respectively.
In Uttarakhand, even as the BJP is leading in the early trends, it is still hard to predict the results as the Congress party is not much behind. The new-entrant AAP, like Goa, has failed to make any impact on the voters so far.