ABP Exit Poll: States where Congress is slated to draw a blank

While the Congress' performance has improved remarkably in many states, there are states it is still unable to open its account.

(Photo by Money SHARMA / AFP)

New Delhi: The Congress party is predicted to make a huge leap in its seat tally and may bag 87 seats, while still remaining nowhere near to the Saffron party which is expected to win 227 seats, ABP News Exit Poll predicted. In 2014, BJP had won an absolute majority by grabbing 282 seats on its own, while the Congress routed by the Modi wave had slumped to 44 seats. While the Congress is seen making gains in states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Punjab, it is seen drawing nil in states like Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Jammu and Kashmir. Andhra Pradesh: As per ABP News-Nielsen Exit Poll, both Congress and BJP are predicted to draw a blank in Andhra Pradesh. BJP had won three seats in the 2014 polls in the state that was bifurcated soon after the polls. Two of its MPs stayed with Andhra. The 2 seats on which Congress had won went to Telangana after bifurcation. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is slated to register victory on 5 seats this time, incurring a loss of 10 seats as compared to 2014 seat tally. The YSR Congress is predicted to win 20 seats, 12 more than what it won in the 2014 polls. Jammu and Kashmir: As per the exit polls prediction, Congress will fail to open account in Jammu and Kashmir this time as well. Of the six Lok Sabha seats in the state, the BJP, PDP and National Conference, are slated to win two seats each, ABP News Exit Polls predicted. Both BJP and PDP had won three seats each in the 2014 general elections, while the Congress had won zero seats. Odisha: The survey projects zero seats for Congress in Odisha, while the BJP is seen making massive inroads in the state. Of the 21 Lok Sabha seats the state has, BJP is slated to win nine seats, while the BJD will manage to secure 12 seats. As per the exit poll figures, the BJP is gaining on eight seats, while BJD is predicted to suffer a setback on eight. Despite the Modi wave in 2014, Naveen Patnaik’s BJD had comfortably bagged 20 of the 21 seats, while the BJP could win only 1 seat. The general elections to 542 seats of the Lok Sabha ended Sunday. The majority mark is 272. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.