As the five-state elections came to a close today, with West Bengal seeing its last phase of polling, news channels released results of exit polls for each state, with some surprising outcomes.
While the Trinamool Congress is likely to retain West Bengal, the Bharatiya Janata Party is likely to retain Assam and win Puducherry, the DMK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu is likely to flip the state while the Left Democratic Front is likely to retain Kerala, show the exit polls of the elections to these states/UTs.
Here is a closer look at the different exit poll results, in a state-wise breakdown.
West Bengal
Perhaps the most closely watched fight this election season, the TMC's Mamata Banerjee may end up winning a third term, albeit with a slim majority. The BJP's electoral juggernaut is expected to see the party win seats in the triple digits.
The state's legislature has 294 seats, making 148 seats the half way mark.
Assam
Assam is a direct battleground between the NDA led by the BJP and the Mitrajot led by the Congress. While most of the exit polls expect the BJP to beat the Congress once again, but according to CVoter, the battle remains close.
64 seats are needed to form the government in the 126-seat house.
Tamil Nadu
The incumbent government of the AIADMK led by Eddappadi Palaniswamy is likely to be replaced by the MK Stalin led DMK, show the exit polls.
Tamil Nadu is a high-profile state where the BJP is looking to make inroads through its alliance with the AIADMK as part of the NDA.
The state has 234 seats, with 118 required for a majority.
Kerala
In Kerala, the incumbent Left Democratic Front is facing opposition from the Congress-led United Democratic Front.
The Pinarayi Vijayan-led government is among the most affected states in the ongoing pandemic, with nearly 15 lakh cases and over 2,66,000 active cases.
Both these fronts have alternately been in power over the last four decades, but the LDF is likely to create history by winning a consecutive term this time.
71 seats or more out of 140 are required to form the government in the state.
Puducherry
Going into the election, the V Narayanaswami-led government of the Congress was already in a minority after a slew of resignations by legislators of the party.
The NR Congress, AIADMK and BJP are facing off against the Congress and the DMK in the union territory.
The assembly has 30 seats and another three nominated members.
Exit polls can often go wrong, as was seen in the case of Bihar.
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