New Delhi: The Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress is likely to retain West Bengal, if exit polls are to be believed. Projections for the neighbouring Assam gave a clear edge to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led alliance over the Congress-led opposition.
In Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the ruling Left combine and the DMK-led opposition alliance, respectively, were projected ahead of their respective rivals.
In Puducherry, the NDA is expected to form the government.
Four states and one Union Territory – West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry – voted to elect their next government. The results will be announced on May 2.
West Bengal is witnessing a high stakes battle between the ruling Trinamool Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Left-Congress alliance, for the 294 member house. The state held elections in eight phases.
Tamil Nadu, which held a single-phase election to the 234-seat assembly, is seeing a contest between the DMK-Congress alliance and the ruling AIADMK-BJP alliance.
Assam, where the saffron party won for the first time in 2016, held a three-phase election for the 126 member house.
In Kerala, which has 140 seats, the ruling CPM-led LDF, the Congress-led UDF and the BJP are the contenders.
Puducherry, which has 30 seats, is seeing a contest between the Congress-led UPA and the All India N.R. Congress-led opposition alliances. Two months before the polls, the Congress lost its power in the Union Territory due to infighting.
Exit polls
In West Bengal, the Republic-CNX polls gave the BJP a slight edge by projecting 138-148 seats for the party in the 294-seat assembly and 128-138 to the TMC. However, the Times Now-C Voter predicted a clear majority for the TMC by projecting 162 seats for the party and 115 for the BJP.
Jan Ki Baat exit polls, however, predicted a strong majority for the BJP in West Bengal, giving it 162-185 seats, against 104-121 to the ruling TMC.
In Assam, India Today-Axis My India predicted 75-85 seats for the BJP in the 126-member assembly and 40-50 to the Congress-led opposition.
The Wire has collated the exit polls from various agencies.
West Bengal (294 seats)
| BJP | Trinamool Congress | Left-Congress alliance | |
| India TV | 172-191 | 64-88 | 7-12 |
| CNN News18 | 115 | 158 | 15 |
| Times Now-C-Voter | 115 | 162 | 22 |
| Republic-CNX | 138-148 | 128-138 | 11-21 |
| ABP-C-voter | 109-121 | 152-164 | 14-25 |
| Jan Ki Baat | 162-185 | 104-121 | 3-9 |
Tamil Nadu (234 seats)
| DMK-Congress | BJP-AIADMK | Others | |
| Republic-CNX | 160-170 | 28-68 | 4-6 |
| Today’s Chanakya | 164-186 | 46-68 | 0-6 |
| P-MARQ | 165-190 | 40-65 | 1-3 |
| Aaj Tak-Axis-My India | 175-195 | 38-54 | 0-2 |
Assam (126 seats)
| BJP | Congress | Others | |
| Republic-CNX | 58-71 | 53-66 | 0-5 |
| Aaj Tak-Axis-My India | 75-85 | 40-50 | 1-2 |
| Today’s Chanakya | 61-79 | 47-65 | 0-3 |
Kerala (140 seats)
| LDF | UDF | BJP | |
| ABP-C-voter | 71-77 | 62-68 | 0-2 |
| Times Now-C-Voter | 74 | 65 | 0 |
Puducherry (30 seats)
| NDA | Congress-led SDA | Others | |
| ABP-C Voter | 19-23 | 6-10 | 1-2 |
(With inputs from PTI)