The counting of votes for the 690 seats across five states began at 8 am on Thursday. Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur went to polls between February 10 and March 7. While Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa went to the polls in one phase, Manipur voted in two phases. Uttar Pradesh voted in seven phases.
More than 50,000 officials have been deployed for the counting of votes at nearly 1,200 halls in the five states and Covid-9 guidelines will be followed amid tight security, according to officials.
Uttar Pradesh
It is a high-stakes election in Uttar Pradesh for the BJP and the Modi government as party’s performance is expected to have a bearing on the 2024 general elections. Several exit polls have forecast a clear majority for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh.
Uttar Pradesh, which has a maximum of 403 assembly constituencies, will have more than 750 counting halls. If the BJP gets a majority in the 403-member assembly, it would be the first party to get a consecutive second term in over three decades.
Punjab
A total of 1,304 candidates, including 93 women and two transgenders, are in the fray in the 117 seats. Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has emerged as a major contender as it hopes to script history by coming to power in the state. AAP’s chief ministerial candidate Bhagwant Mann had said he was confident of the party’s comfortable victory in the state.
Though various exit polls predicted that the Congress would not be able to form the government for the second time in a row, Punjab Congress leaders have insisted that their party would secure victory. The BJP has said it will make impressive gains while former chief minister Amarinder Singh has said that this party, the Punjab Lok Congress, and the BJP have done well in the elections.
Goa
With exit polls predicting a hung assembly in Goa which saw a multi-cornered fight. The AAP and Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) had also forayed into the state which went to polls for 40 seats. The ruling BJP contested all seats on its own. While the Congress allied with the Goa Forward Party (GFP), TMC allied with Maharashtravadi Gomantak Party (MGP). Goa Congress chief Girish Chodankar told reporters on Wednesday that AAP leaders were “already in talks with Congress leaders" and claimed that the MGP too will support his party.
The Congress has shifted all the candidates in the coastal state to a luxury resort in Bambolim village near Panaji ahead of the counting of votes.
Uttarakhand
While many exit polls have given either the BJP or Congress a majority in the 70-member assembly, several of them have also predicted a close fight between the two major players or a hung assembly. In case of a hung assembly, smaller players like the AAP, SP, BSP and UKD will play key role in government formation. The BJP and Congress are locked in straight contests on 40 to 45 seats, while the regional outfits make the fight triangular on 25-30 seats.
Manipur
In Manipur, too, a close contest is expected between the Congress and the BJP. Many exit polls have predicted a win for the BJP in the 60-member assembly. The Congress has announced a pre-poll alliance with CPI, CPM, Forward Bloc, RSP and JD(S). former chief minister and Congress leader Okram Ibobi Singh has also exuded confidence that his party would come back to power.
To prevent a repeat of 2017, when the Congress was the single-largest party with 28 seats but could not form the government, Singh said the party MLAs would this time take "precautionary measures like staying together at a place".
-with PTI inputs
