Exit poll: Modi to snatch key states from Congress

The BJP will form the next government in both Maharashtra and Haryana, exit polls predicted on Wednesday. The only thing they did not agree on was whether the party would win a clear majority on its own.

If the polls are proved right, it would validate the BJP's bold gamble in going it alone in both states, as well as its focus on a Narendra Modi-centred campaign that dwelt more on governance issues than on the communal rhetoric often associated with the saffron party.

Of the four exit polls that made projections for Maharashtra, one — done by Today's Chanakya — gave the BJP 151 seats or a clear majority in the 288-member assembly. Another, done by AC Nielsen for ABP News, predicted the party would just hit the half-way mark of 144.

The CVoter poll conducted for Times Now gave the BJP 138 seats and the Cicero poll for the India Today group gave it 124. In the latter two, while the BJP would need some support from others it should hardly find that a problem.

Interestingly, the Sena too is not seen as a major loser, at least in terms of seats, from the break-up of the 25-year old alliance with the BJP. All the polls agreed that it would finish second and that it would improve significantly upon its 2009 tally of 44 seats, though the numbers varied from 59 to 77. Three of the four polls put the Congress in third spot, just a little ahead of the NCP while one had it the other way round.

In Haryana, only three polls made predictions and two of them gave the BJP a clear majority, while the third had it hitting the half-way mark of the 90-member house. The polls were also unanimous that Om Prakash Chautala's INLD would finish second with about 22-23 seats, the Congress a distant third and Kuldeep Bishnoi's HJCBL an also ran.