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Exit poll results for the Uttarakhand Assembly elections, in which 70 constituencies had gone to the polls last month, indicate a drop in the seat share of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), predicting a close battle with the Congress.
Reacting to the exit polls, Uttarakhand CM and BJP leader Pushkar Singh Dhami said, "People of Uttarakhand have shown faith in us and we will form the government."
While Times Now-Veto projected a BJP majority with the party winning 37 out of the 70 seats, the ABP-CVoter projections indicated that the Congress might grab 32-38 seats. Zee News-DesignBoxed, meanwhile, predicted 35-40 seats for the Congress.
Held on 14 February, the Uttarakhand Assembly elections saw a 62.5 percent voter turnout across the 13 districts. The votes will be counted on 10 March.
632 candidates were in the fray across the state's 70 constituencies
The number of polling booths was increased by 623 to 11,447
In the state's previous elections that were held in 2017, the BJP, led by Trivendra Singh Rawat, had won by an overwhelming margin, bagging 57 of the 70 seats
The Congress had finished second with 11 seats, and the remaining two seats had gone to Independent candidates
"All exit polls are showing that BJP will form government with majority. Some are showing 45 seats, some 47 seats but I believe there will be more seats when the final result is out. People of Uttarakhand have shown faith in us and will form government," Uttarakhand CM and BJP leader Pushkar Singh Dhami claimed, even as some exit polls projected Congress win by a slender margin.
India Today-Axis My India projected a vote share of 44%, 40% and 6% for BJP, Congress and BSP, respectively.
India Today-Axis My India estimated a majority for BJP with 36-46 seats and 20-30 seats for Congress.
News24-Today predicted a clear majority for the BJP with 43 seats. Meanwhile, the polling agency projected 24 seats for the Congress and 3 for other parties.
Exit poll results as per ABP-CVoter indicate the likeliness of a hung assembly, with 26-32 seats projected for the BJP and 32-38 seats for the Congress.
The AAP and other parties are predicted to win 0-2 and 3-7, respectively.
Exit poll results as per Zee News-DesignBoxed projects 26-32 seats for the BJP and 35-40 seats for the Congress.
According to the ABP-CVoter projections, the BJP is predicted to have a 41% vote share, the Congress 39% votes, and the AAP 9% vote share.
According to Times Now-Veto, the BJP is predicted to win 37 seats, the Congress 31 seats, and the AAP and other parties 1 seat each.
The Assembly elections in the state of Uttarakhand recorded a voter turnout of 60 percent. While the state is known to have an average voter turnout, it was lesser this time compared to the previous two elections held in 2017 (64.8 percent) and 2012 (66.6 percent).
What does the low voter turnout across the state and in key constituencies mean? Does it indicate the mood of the voters?
Read more here.
The results of the exit polls for the Uttarakhand Assembly elections, conducted by various polling research agencies, are scheduled to be released after 6 pm on Monday, once the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is lifted after the completion of the seventh and final phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
India Today-Axis My India, ABP News-CVoter, ZeeNews-DesignBoxed, Times Now-Veto and News24-Today's Chanakya are among the agencies expected to publish their exit poll predictions shortly.
Voting had ended for the Uttarakhand Assembly elections with a turnout of 62.5 percent. The district-wise turnout, as recorded by the EC till the end of polling at 6 pm on 14 February, is as follows:
Dehradun - 52.93%
Haridwar - 68.73%
Chamoli - 59.28%
Rudraprayag - 60.36%
Tehri Garhwal - 52.66%
Uttarkashi - 65.55%
Pauri Garhwal - 51.93%
Almora - 50.65%
Nainital - 63.12%
Pithoragarh - 57.49%
U S Nagar - 65.13%
Bageshwar - 57.83%
Champawat - 56.97%
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