Counting of votes in assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana will be held on Sunday as the BJP and the Congress gear up for the crucial semifinal ahead of the final of the 2024 Lok Sabha election. The counting of Mizoram was also scheduled to take place on December 3 but was deferred to December 4 as Sunday holds a special significance for the people of Mizoram, a Christian-majority state. Among the rest four states, the Congress is in power in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh and the BJP is in Madhya Pradesh. K Chandrasekhar Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) is in power in Telangana. Congress said their candidates in Telangana have received calls straight from KCR indicating the possibility of post-poll dramatic developments in the state.
Assembly Election results 2023: Full coverage
Here's a look at the four states and the exit poll predictions
Madhya Pradesh:
The Congress is looking to wrest the state from the BJP which came to power in 2020 riding on the rebellion of the Congress leaders who joined the BJP bringing down the Kamal Nath-led Congress government which came to power in 2018. Exit polls have projected a close fight in the state with BJP having a slight edge over the Congress. A lot is at stake for both the BJP and the Congress in this 230-seat assembly election. Incumbent chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said BJP would retain the state with a huge majority while Congress's Kamal Nath dismissed the exit poll results and said Congress would come to power.
Heavy-weight fights are expected in Shivraj Singh Chouhan's Budhni seat, Kamal Nath's Chhindwara, Kailash Vijaywargiya's Indore 1 etc.
{{/usCountry}}Heavy-weight fights are expected in Shivraj Singh Chouhan's Budhni seat, Kamal Nath's Chhindwara, Kailash Vijaywargiya's Indore 1 etc.
{{/usCountry}}According to India Today-Axis My India prediction, the BJP will retain power in Madhya Pradesh with 140-162 seats out of 230. Congress may get 60-90 seats. India TV-CNX exit poll predicted 140-159 seats for the BJP and 70-89 seats for the Congress. The Times Now-ETG gave BJP 105-117 seats, Congress 109-125 seats. Republic TV projected 118-130 seats to BJP, 97-107 to Congress.
Rajasthan
Rajasthan's tradition of voting out the incumbent government is what is concerning for the Congress while the BJP is expecting a massive gain amid the Gehlot vs Pilot undercurrent. Both the BJP and the Congress have started reaching out to the smaller parties, rebels and independents as exit polls predicted a tight race between the BJP and the Congress.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP), Bhartiya Tribal Party (BTP), Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP), CPI (M) are among the parties contesting elections in the state.
India Today-My Axis exit poll predicted BJP 80-100 seats and the Congress 86-106 seats out of 199. India TV-CNX poll predicted 94-104 seats for Congress and 80-90 seats for BJP. Times Now-ETG poll predicted 56-72 seats to Congress and 108-128 to BJP indicating a huge gap. Jan Ki Baat poll gave 100-122 seats to BJP and 62-85 seats to Congress.
Chhattisgarh
With tough fights predicted in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, the Congress is looking for an easy win in Chhattisgarh. India Today-Axis My India poll predicted 40-50 seats out of 90 for the Congress and 36-46 seats for the BJP. ABP C-Voter projected 41-53 seats for the Congress and 36-48 seats for the BJP. The Republic TV exit poll gave Congress 44-52 seats, BJP 34-42 seats; India TV-CNX poll predicted 46- 56 seats for Congress and 30-40 seats for BJP.
Telangana
All exit polls have predicted a Congress sweep in Telangana dashing KCR's hope for a three-term CM post. Congress claimed their candidates have already got calls from KCR which KCR's party dismissed and asserted that BRS will not need 'to poach' from the Congress. India Today-My Axis predicted 63-73 seats out of 119 seats for the Congress, 34-44 for the BRS and 4-8 for the BJP.
According to India TV-CNX exit polls, the Congress may win 63-79 seats while BRS would win 31-47 seats in the 119-member assembly. Jan ki Baat's prediction is that the Congress may win 48-64 seats, BRS 40-55 and the BJP 7-13. TV9 Bharatvarsh-Polstrat exit polls projected 49-59 seats for the Congress and 48-58 for the BRS in a neck-and-neck fight. Republic TV-Matrize has predicted a close fight with the Congress at 58-68 seats and the BRS with 46-56 seats.