A Congress MP expressed confidence that the BJP will not form governments in West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Assam, also criticising the Election Commission. BJP leaders countered, expecting victory across all five states.
Congress Confident of BJP's Defeat, Slams EC
A Congress MP on Sunday said the BJP will not form a government in West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Assam, and termed the decision to conduct repolling despite heavy central security deployment "shameful" for the Election Commission Speaking to ANI, Congress MP said, "Not just in West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Assam--the results will come. We are fully confident that in none of these five states will a BJP government be formed... their (BJP's) government is not being formed, no matter how many claims they make."
Referring to the deployment of over 2.5 lakh central security forces, he said, "If, despite deploying over 2.5 lakh central security forces, repolling has to be conducted, what could be more shameful for the Election Commission... In the times to come, Election Commissioners will come and go, but the message you are leaving behind will impact the electoral system for centuries."
BJP Expresses Confidence in Victory
Meanwhile, ahead of the announcement of Assembly election results tomorrow, Union Minister of State and BJP leader Shobha Karandlaje expressed confidence that the party will secure victories across all five states--Keralam, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry--stating that the outcome would reflect strong public support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.
"We are confident that we will emerge victorious in all five states. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a multitude of facilities, schemes, and development projects have been implemented over the last ten years. Therefore, we are hopeful that people will surely vote us to power. We are eagerly awaiting tomorrow's results," Karandlaje told the reporters on Sunday.
Targeting Opposition-ruled states, she added, "Our aim is to end the era of hooliganism in West Bengal and Kerala."
Speaking further on post-poll dynamics, the Union Minister said the BJP had also witnessed interest from other political players. "We have seen various political parties approaching us. If we secure a good number of seats, independent candidates and smaller parties will likely join us. We have worked hard towards this goal," she said.
Meanwhile, on elections in 4 states and 1 Union Territory, Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said, "In all elections, the BJP's performance is going to do very well..."
Exit Poll Projections
Exit polls projected that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is poised to retain power for a third successive term. Axis My India projected that the BJP-led NDA would secure 88 to 100 of 126 seats and the Congress-led alliance 24 to 36 seats. JVC predicted 88-101 seats for the NDA and 23-33 seats for the Congress-led alliance. It gave 0-2 seats to AIUDF and three to others. Matrize projected 85-95 seats for the BJP-led alliance, 25-32 for the Congress-led alliance, and 6-12 seats for others.
Exit polls for West Bengal have projected a tight contest between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress (TMC). While some projections, including Chanakya Strategies and Matrize, have given an edge to the BJP, others suggest a closer fight with TMC retaining a significant share of seats. Smaller parties are also expected to play a limited role in the outcome.
Results for West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Keralam, Assam and Puducherry elections will take place on May 4. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)