Election results highlights: 3 Hindi heartland states turn saffron, Congress wins Telangana

Election Results 2023 Live Updates: The BJP said that it will win the elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

"All exit polls are predicting a sweep for the BJP in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Dead heat in Chhattisgarh, with a narrow gap between the two principal parties. It could well be 3-0, in favour of the BJP, in the Hindi heartland, on December 3," BJP's IT cell head Amit Malviya said.

Election Results 2023 Live Updates: The counting of votes for the four states will begin sharply at 8am across multiple counting centres.

The postal ballot votes will be counted first.

This will help us in getting initial trends.

Election Results 2023 Live Updates: BJP's Raman Singh exuded confidence that his party will get clear majority in the state.

“We will form government in the state. BJP will get about between 44-55 seats,” he asserted.

Not something exit polls predict though.

Election Results 2023 Live Updates: Sure we live in a world where it is hard to trust. But do you not trust an exit poll also? Many don't. Political expert Jayram Shukla said that the variation in exit poll numbers adds to the palpable tension but the results would be the clash of two sets of people.

“The first is those that aspire for more, and the other is those who are beneficiaries. Among the first group, there are many that don’t have work, want the old pension scheme and are perhaps fed up with the monotony of power. The second category are those that have benefitted from the welfare scheme of the incumbent government, whether it is women, farmers or housing. It will be interesting to see what pressure group comes out on top,” he said.

Interesting, right?

Election Results 2023 Live Updates: Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath said that he was not concerned with exit poll results. “We will win with a huge majority and I have faith in the voters of Madhya Pradesh," he asserted.

Election Results 2023 Live Updates: Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, “BJP has received unprecedented support from every section of society and is going to get a huge majority.”

It remains to be seen if BJP is voted back to power in the state or not.

Stay tuned for more!

Election Results 2023 Live Updates: Want to know about Telangana elections? We got you covered.

1. For Telangana, every exit poll predicted that the Congress was set to displace the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) that has ruled the state since its inception.
2. Four exit polls even said that the Congress would get a simple majority of its own.
3. The Congress was decimated in the 2018 polls and ended up around 20 percentage points in vote share behind the BRS.
4. Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao underlined his welfare outreach and the schemes that the state government operationalised over the last decade during his party's campaign.
5. The results will be crucial for opposition dynamics because the BRS has maintained equal distance from the NDA and INDIA.

Election Results 2023 Live Updates: There is no guarantee of accuracy when it comes to exit polls. In the 2018 assembly polls, the averages of the exit polls were off by only a few seats in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Exit polls were inaccurate by a considerable margin for Telangana and Chhattisgarh.

Election Results 2023 LIVE Updates: The votes for legislative assemblies of four states -- Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana -- will be counted today.

The counting of votes at designated centres will begin at 8 am.

The votes will be counted for 230 seats in Madhya Pradesh, 90 seats in Chhattisgarh, 119 in Telangana and 199 seats in Rajasthan.

Polling for one seat in Rajasthan was pushed back earlier following the death of the Congress candidate.

Stay tuned for more…

1. In 2018, Congress won in Chhattisgarh making Bhupesh Baghel the chief minister.
2. Five exit polls have predicted a tight fight between the two national parties with the Congress inching ahead.
3. Three others forecast that Congress is comfortably set for a second straight term.
4. Congress had campaigned on its paddy procurement scheme and other welfare programmes.
5. BJP attacked Bhupesh Baghel over corruption allegations.

Assembly Election Results 2023 LIVE Updates: Exit polls predicted that Congress could win in Chhattisgarh while Ashok Gehlot could lose his job in Rajasthan. Madhya Pradesh could choose the BJP again but Telangana may choose Congress and displace the BRS.

But… exit polls have gone wrong before.

Assembly Election Results 2023 LIVE Updates: Rajasthan witnessed an intense battle between the BJP and the Congress.

1. The state usually votes out the incumbent every five years.
2. Congress chief minister Ashok Gehlot put up a tough battle using welfare and cash transfer schemes this time.
3. BJP is hoping to cash in on PM Modi's popularity.
4. Majority of exit polls predicted that the BJP was coming back to power.
5. IndiaToday-AxisMyIndia and Today’s Chanakya-News 24 predicted that Congress would be marginally ahead.

Assembly Election Results 2023 LIVE Updates: Congress in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain district alleged that the paper seals on a box containing postal ballots were found to be broken. The returning officer has denied the same. Mahesh Parmar, sitting Congress MLA from Tarana, alleged that when he along with some party workers visited the strongroom, they found that old seals on one of the boxes had been broken, news agency PTI reported.

Assembly Election Results 2023 LIVE Updates: All the arrangements for counting of votes have been made in Rajasthan, the state's chief electoral officer Praveen Gupta said, adding, “All the arrangements for counting votes have been made. The counting of votes will be done at 36 centres at the headquarters of district election officers in a centralised way. For that, all the arrangements have been made.”

The Congress has appointed observers to coordinate meetings of its legislature party in four states where assembly election results will be declared. They are:

Rajasthan- Former chief minister of Haryana Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Madhusudan Mistry, Mukul Wasnik and Shakeel Ahmed Khan.

Telangana- Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, Deepa Das Munshi, Ajoy Kumar, K Muraleedharan and K J George as observers.

Chhattisgarh- Congress treasurer Ajay Maken, Ramesh Chennithala and Pritam Singh.

Madhya Pradesh- Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Prithviraj Chavan, Rajeev Shukla and Chandrakanth Handore.

Assembly Election Results 2023 LIVE Updates: Union minister and BJP leader Arjun Ram Meghwal said that the BJP will emerge victorious by getting a full majority and will surely form the government in Rajasthan.

"Everyone is very well aware of the fact that the BJP is going to form its government in Rajasthan. Although the results will be clear by tomorrow, but there is no doubt that we will get a full majority and form our government," he said.

Madhya Pradesh police made adequate security arrangements across the state in view of the counting of votes, Commissioner of Police (Bhopal) Harinarayan Chari Mishra said. “Keeping in mind the special arrangements for tomorrow, the police force has been deployed. The teams will evaluate the situation concerning the security arrangements tomorrow. The traffic will be diverted on the main road tomorrow,” he informed.

Assembly Election Results 2023 LIVE Updates: Madhya Pradesh is seeing a head-to-head battle between the BJP and the Congress.

1. BJP has ruled the state for 18 of the last 20 years
2. Congress is hoping to cash in on anti-incumbency to dislodge incumbent chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
3. A majority of exit polls predicted an intense battle between the two parties.
4. Two gave the edge to the Congress, one to the BJP and two forecast a hung assembly.
5. IndiaToday-AxisMyIndia and Today’s Chanakya-News 24 were the outliers- predicting a sweep for the BJP.
6. The BJP has fielded many senior ministers and parliamentarians.
7. The Congress has focussed on anti-incumbency and corruption allegations against Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Assembly Election Results 2023 LIVE Updates: The counting process will take place in district headquarters.

Each centre will have pre-determined observers, returning officers and assistant returning officers.

The process is videographed.

The centres are kept under heavy protection from state and central security personnel.

Assembly Election Results 2023 LIVE Updates: The Congress party issued helpline numbers for its workers in case of any irregularities during the counting process of Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections.

“Under the guidance of Kamal Nath ji on December 2, 2023, a war room has been set up in PCC Bhopal. Any kind of questions and for the redressal of complaints, a team of legal experts will be available in the presence of Kamal Nath ji,” the party said.

Assembly Election Results 2023 LIVE Updates: Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat expressed confidence in BJP forming government in Rajasthan with will full majority, saying, “BJP is forming the government in Rajasthan; there is no doubt about this. It is as inevitable as the sun rising from the East tomorrow.”

Assembly Election Results 2023 LIVE Updates: The counting of votes for the Chhattisgarh Assembly elections will commence in all 90 assembly constituencies at 8:00 am. On the arrangements that have been made, the Election Commission said, “90 returning officers, 416 assistant returning officers, 4596 enumerators, and 1699 micro-observers have been appointed for the counting process. The Election Commission of India has appointed 90 counting observers for the 90 assembly constituencies.”

Assembly Election Results 2023 LIVE Updates: Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi claimed that the people will vote in favour of the Opposition INDIA bloc ahead of the election results of four states. Gaurav Gogoi said, "I believe that the election results in all four states will give a lot of strength to the Opposition alliance. It will be a day reckoning tomorrow for the INDIA partners and I am hopeful that the verdict will set the tone for our victory in the Lok Sabha elections next year. The results tomorrow will give us the momentum to go all-out against the BJP (at the Centre). It will set us on the road to victory in 2024."

BJP leader and former Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said that while the Congress worked hard during the elections "Prime Minister Narendra is doing great work, which is impacting the country's aspirational and educated youth positively. The central government is doing good work and the BJP-ruled states are doing likewise.

Assembly Election Results 2023 LIVE Updates: Across four states around 119 million votes have been cast for 639 seats. These will be counted today to conclude a poll exercise- a virtual semi-final for the 2024 general elections. The results will impact poll strategy for the parties in Lok Sabha elections as well.

So, not to be missed, for sure!