Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to reach the party headquarters in Delhi at 6 pm in the evening as the party is likely to win Gujarat for the seventh time with record numbers. The Prime Minister will address party workers who are in celebratory modes as the saffron party has established a huge lead in early trends and is likely to retain its turf.
Within hours of counting the BJP established a clear lead leaving behind the Congress and the AAP. Currently, at 11.16 am, the BJP stands at 151, Congress at 18, and AAP at seven.
While counting of postal ballots began at 8 am, counting of EVM votes began at 8.30 am, an official said. The Commission has made elaborate security arrangements to ensure a smooth counting process. The entire counting process is videotaped.
Altogether 182 counting observers and as many election officials are on duty at the counting centres, and each counting table has a micro-observer, a counting supervisor and a counting assistant.
The state Assembly polls were held in two phases, with polling for the first phase in 89 seats held on December 1, and for the remaining 93 seats on December 5.
The elections witnessed a turnout of 64.33 per cent, around 4 per cent less than the previous Assembly polls in 2017. Of the 4.9 crore registered voters, only 3.16 crore voted in the 2022 elections.
EXIT POLL
According to the ABP News-CVoter exit polls, the BJP is likely to sail through, winning 128-140 seats. The Congress, after its biggest win in 2017 since 1985, is projected to win only 31-43 seats this election. The exit polls also point towards debutante Aam Admi Party making inroads, winning 3-11 seats.
As per the ABP-CVoter exit poll, the BJP is likely to gain 4.4% in its vote share in Central Gujarat, which has 61 seats, over 2017. While in 2017 the party had 50.9% of the polled votes in its favour, this year, it is looking at a vote share of 55.3% in the region. Riding on the increased vote share, the BJP is projected to win 45 to 49 seats. In 2017, it won 37 seats in Central Gujarat.