Assembly polls: Modi magic pushes BJP up in Maharashtra, Haryana -indiatoday sources

Assembly polls: Modi magic pushes BJP up in Maharashtra, Haryana -indiatoday sources

The Narendra Modi juggernaut is expected to knock the Congress out of power in Maharashtra and Haryana and overcome its own estranged allies, the exit polls have predicted.

The India Today Group-Cicero exit poll predicted that BJP may win 124 of the 288 seats in Maharashtra, coming close to forming the government on its own. The poll shows massive gains for the BJP, which had won only 46 seats in 2009.

According to the India Today-Cicero poll, while the BJP is expected to get 26.8 per cent vote share, Shiv Sena is predicted to be second largest party with 71 seats and a vote share of 20.6 per cent. The Congress and the NCP are expected to be reduced to 35 and 29 seats, respectively. The Congress is expected to get a vote share of 15.6 per cent and the NCP predicted to garner 14.7 per cent of the popular vote. Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) is expected to get only 7 seats.

All other exit polls have made similar predictions, including the one by Today's Chanakya, the agency whose prediction for the Lok Sabha polls was closest to the actual result.

In a survey issued along with News 24, Chanakya has given a clear majority to the BJP in both Maharashtra and Haryana. In Maharashtra, Chanakya predicted 151 seats for the BJP and 71 for Shiv Sena with the Congress and NCP expected to finish with a tally of 27 and 28, respectively.

The Chanakya poll claimed that the BJP will win 52 out of 90 seats in Haryana, while Om Prakash Chautala's INLD will be second with 23 seats, followed by the ruling Congress getting 10 and others, five seats.

The exit poll conducted by India TV-CVoter projected 129 seats in Maharashtra for the BJP, 56 for the Shiv Sena, Congress 43, NCP 36, MNS 12 and others 12. The exit poll projected 42-48 seats for BJP in Haryana, 20-26 for INLD, 12-18 for Congress, six for Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) and four for others.

According to the ABP News-Nielsen exit poll, the BJP is set to garner 144 seats, Shiv Sena 77, Congress 30, NCP 29 and others eight in Maharashtra, while in Haryana, the poll gave 54 seats to BJP, Congress 10, INLD 22, and others four.

The elections are the first real test of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity after leading the BJP to an unprecedented win, for a party other than the Congress, in May in the Lok Sabha polls. Modi had campaigned extensively in both the states, urging people to vote for the saffron party.

A victory will not only reaffirm Modi's appeal with voters but also silence detractors of his new party leadership, which was blamed for a string of defeats in some recent by-elections.