Mamata has edge in state polls, DMK sweeps Tamil Nadu, Left wins Kerala
Accoring to a NDTV poll of exit polls in India's state elections Mamata Banerjee has an edge in Bengal and her Trinamool Congress could win 148 of the state's 294 seats with the BJP not far behind at 131 seats.
An aggregate of six exit polls predicts that Mamata Banerjee may just make it past the half-way mark but her comfort factor will largely depend on how much she can widen the gap with her challenger BJP after a series of defections.
The BJP's projected tally is significant in a state where it has so far been an outlier, reports the NDTV.
In Kerala, the incumbent Left-led LDF front is likely to retain power with 88 of 140 seats and the Congress-led UDF will be a distant second with 50 seats, the polls say. If that proves right, it will be the first re-election for an incumbent in Kerala's see-saw politics.
The BJP is set to make its presence felt in the southern state with two seats, the poll of polls says.
For Tamil Nadu, the polls predict a sweep for the opposition DMK and its allies; they are likely to win a staggering 174 of 234 seats, the polls say.
The ruling AIADMK - the BJP's ally – will finish with 57 seats in its first state election since the death of its charismatic leader J Jayalalithaa in 2016, say the exit polls.
The Congress is staring at disappointment in Assam, the exit polls suggest, with the BJP expected to retain power by winning 69 of 126 seats. The Congress, which campaigned aggressively to win back its former bastion, is likely to win 54 seats, say the polls.
Elections were held from March 27 in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry. Bengal's record eight-phase polls ended today. The results will be announced on 2 May.