The BJP is poised for a dominant performance in the Hindi heartland states and is slated for a two-thirds majority in Madhya Pradesh and is heading towards comfortable victories in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, according to the latest trends from Election Commission.
The counting of votes in the four states, which went to the polls last month, started at 8 am on Sunday.
The Congress is poised to win Telangana for the first time in a shock for the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi which was in power in India’s youngest state for the past 10 years.
The BJP is leading on 163 of 230 seats in Madhya Pradesh, 53 of 90 seats in Chhattisgarh and 114 of 199 seats in Rajasthan.
Congress, which was seen to have an edge in Chhattisgarh, is leading on 36 seats in the state. In Madhya Pradesh, it is leading on 65 seats and in Rajasthan on 70 seats.
Rajasthan seems to have followed the over three-decade old trend of rotating governments and the Congress government led by Ashok Gehlot appears to be on its way out.
BJP is on its way to creating a record in Madhya Pradesh and its expected coming to power again after having ruled the state for 18 of the past 20 years is an apparent indication of the party’s organizational hold in the state as well as popularity of its schemes and leadership.
BJP has bounced back strongly in Chhattisgarh where the ruling Congress was supposed to have done well. A strong, sustained and aggressive campaign and its matching Congress in poll promises seem to worked for the BJP.
In Telangana, Congress gained from the anti-incumbency against the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi with its leader A Revanth Reddy seen to be a fierce critic of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao. Victory in Karnataka in assembly polls earlier this year enthused Congress workers in Telangana and the party ran a strong campaign bolstered by its leaders from different parts of the country.
As per the latest trends from the Election Commission, Congress is leading in 63 of 119 assembly seats, BRS on 41, BJP on nine, AIMIM on 4 and CPI on one.
The BJP has improved its vote share in the southern state and is poised to improve its tally as well.
While the Congress will be happy over its expected victory in Telangana, the loss in Hindi heartland states is a cause of worry for the party months before the Lok Sabha polls. Of the large swathe of the Hindi heartland, Congress is in power only in Himachal Pradesh and is part of the government in Bihar.
Counting in Mizoram, which went to the polls last month, will take place on Monday.
