New Delhi:

With voting over in Haryana, it is now time to find out what the exit polls have predicted for the state as well as the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

It is a largely bipolar contest in Haryana and an important one both for the BJP, which is looking to form a government in the state for the third straight time and the Congress, which is hoping to make a comeback.

The BJP won only five of the state’s 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana after sweeping all of them in 2019 and these Assembly elections are an opportunity for the party to prove that it remains popular with voters after failing – for the first time in 10 years – to achieve a majority on its own in the general elections.

In the Lok Sabha elections, the other five constituencies in Haryana were won by the Congress, which believes it is in a strong position to form the government in the state this time.

The 2019 Assembly elections had seen the BJP winning 40 of the state’s 90 seats, the Congress 31 and the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) 10. The BJP had formed the government with the support of the JJP and Dushyant Chautala became the deputy chief minister. The alliance ended after the BJP replaced Manohar Lal Khattar with Nayab Singh Saini as the chief minister in March.

Jammu and Kashmir also has 90 seats and it voted in its first Assembly elections since 2014, first as a Union Territory and first after the removal of Article 370, which gave the erstwhile state special status. 

Statehood has been a major issue in the elections and its restoration has been promised by the BJP – including by PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah – as well as the Congress and the National Conference, which contested the polls in an alliance. 

Another major player is Mehbooba Mufti’s Peoples Democratic Party and other parties include Abdul Ghani Lone’s People’s Conference, Ghulam Nabi Azad’s Democratic Progressive Azad Party and Altaf Bukhari’s Apni Party. An interesting development in these elections was the entry of the banned Jamaat-e-Islami, which backed some candidates, and its strategic alliance with Engineer Rashid’s Awami Ittehad Party.

The counting of votes will be held on October 8.

New Delhi:

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri in a swipe at Rahul Gandhi after the exit polls indicated a massive NDA victory “advised” the Congress leader to start preparing for the general elections in 2029 and 2034.

Mr Puri said Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s “self-certification” of giving 295 seats to the Opposition bloc INDIA will evaporate when the results come out.

“If he thinks INDIA alliance is getting 295, give him another 48 hours to indulge in a little more illusion, self belief, and then he will discover on the 4th that he was living in a make believe world,” Mr Singh told NDTV in an interview today.

He said all the exit polls are pointing at only one direction. Citing from experience in 2014 and 2019, he said he is confident the BJP will by itself get over 340 seats.

“I think we are even close to 350-plus by ourselves. Mallikarjun Kharge, on the other hand, is just throwing around drawing-room conversation… They have also collapsed. Aam Aadmi Party has been wiped out in Delhi. In Punjab, they are almost wiped out. Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, look at what the exit polls are saying,” Mr Singh said.

On Rahul Gandhi, Mr Singh said, “He is still young. He has 2029 and 2034 to look forward to.”

After a marathon Lok Sabha elections 2024 – spread over six weeks, the second-longest general election since 1951-52 – a big win for the ruling BJP-led NDA has been predicted by twelve exit polls – India Today- Axis My India (361-401), News 24-Today’s Chanakya (400), ABP News-C Voter (353-383), Republic Bharat- P Marq (359), India News- D-Dyanamics (371), Republic Bharat- Matrize (353-368), Dainik Bhaskar (281-350), News Nation (342-378), TV 9 Bharatvarsh- Polstrat (342), Times Now-ETG (358), India TV- CNX (362-392) and Jan Ki Baat (362-392).

The exit polls have also predicted NDA dominance in Karnataka and Maharashtra and Left-led alliance’s rout in Kerala. In Bengal, the exit polls predicted a better performance for the BJP than it did the last time (22). Most exit polls have said that the BJP will now be the single-largest party in Bengal in terms of Lok Sabha seats.