ABP C-Voter Exit Poll 2022: As the voting for 2022 Assembly elections in five states - Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarkhand, Goa and Manipur - ended on Monday, ABP News along with C-Voter conducted exit polls to gauge the mood of voters.
The exit poll results signalled that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) remains the dominant party in four out of the five states where elections took place and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab.
A tough fight is predicted between BJP and Congress in the states of Goa and Uttarakhand. BJP will return to power with a reduced margin in the 403-member UP Assembly, the exit poll revealed.
Here are the key highlights of ABP News - CVoter Exit Polls rolled out today:
1. According to the survey findings, BJP is all set to return to power in the populous state of Uttar Pradesh, but with a loss of 89 seats after winning 325 seats in 2017. Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party will also put up an impressive show and is likely to get 140 seats, up 92 from its previous tally of 48 seats
2. Meanwhile, Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is projected to win mere 17 seats, while six seats will go to Congress in Uttar Pradesh. Even other Exit Polls including India Today-Axis My India, News 24-Today's Chanakya, CNN News 18-Matrize, Times Now-Veto and Republic TV-CNX predicted a thumping majority for BJP in UP.
3. In a massive setback for Congress in Punjab, Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is said to sweep the state with 51 to 61 seats in the 117-member assembly. The ruling Congress is slated to bag somewhere around 22-28 seats while the Akali Dal is projected to get 20-26 seats.
4. The exit polls conducted by other news channels predicted a hung assembly in Punjab, the only poll-bound state where Congress is in power while giving a clear edge to the AAP. The Congress was mostly predicted to be securing the second spot in Punjab.
5. Reacting to the exit poll results, AAP leader Raghav Chadha said that it tells us that people of Punjab have overwhelmingly voted for change. "People rejected traditional political parties. AAP is now a national and fastest-growing political party. AAP is going to be national and natural replacement of Congress," he told news agency ANI.
6. In Uttarakhand, the Congress is very close to the majority mark and is projected to get somewhere around 32-38 seats in the 70-member Assembly. The ruling BJP is projected to get between 26-32 seats, while AAP is likely to bag 0-2 seats. The others parties in Uttarakhand are likely to get 3-7 seats of which 3 is likely for BSP.
7. Meanwhile, Goa is projected for a hung Assembly with no party or block getting a majority. The ruling BJP is marginally ahead of Congress with 13-17 seats in the 40-member Assembly. The Congress alliance is at 12-16 seats. The Trinamool Congress is getting 5-9 seats whereas other parties are likely to get 0-2 seats in Goa, as per the exit poll.
8. In Manipur, there is again no clear verdict. The BJP is the single largest party with 23-27 seats in the 60-member Assembly, followed by Congress at 12-16 and NPP at 10-14. Currently, BJP is in power in four of the five states.
9. Other exit polls also predicted a big fall in the fortunes of Mayawati-led BSP and a setback for the Congress, which had hoped to return to power in Punjab and make a comeback in states like Uttarakhand and Goa. Congress has, however, rejected the exit poll results and said it was not "exact poll".
10. The current survey findings and projections are based on ABP News C-Voter Exit Poll/Post Poll personal interviews conducted on pollling day and after polling day among 18+ adults statewide. The sample size was 1.04 lakh in Uttar Pradesh, 17,480 for Uttarakhand, 16,533 for Punjab, 5,502 for Goa and 5,269 for Manipur. The projection comes with 95 per cent Confidence interval.