The exit poll results for Uttarakhand Assembly elections on Monday, 7 March, indicated a drop in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) seat share, forecasting a tight fight with the challenger Congress.
In the 2017 Vidhan Sabha elections, the BJP had swept the polls, bagging 57 of the 70 seats.
On Monday, ABP-CVoter and Zee News-DesignBoxed polling agencies predicted a spare majority for the Congress in Uttarakhand.
Meanwhile, India Today-Axis My India gave a contrasting prediction, estimating a majority for the BJP with 36-46 seats, and 20-30 seats for the Congress.
This is what the predictions looked like on Monday evening:
Times Now-Veto
According to Times Now-Veto exit polls, the BJP is predicted to win 37 seats, the Congress 31 seats, and the AAP and others 1 seat each.
The survey predicted that the BJP will grab 35 percent of the votes, and the Congress, BSP, and others 39 percent, 8 percent, and 18 percent of the votes, respectively.
India Today-Axis My India
India Today-Axis My India projected a vote share of 44 percent, 40 percent, and 6 percent for the BJP, Congress, and BSP, respectively.
Further, it estimated a comfortable majority for the BJP with 36-46 seats, while forecasting 20-30 seats for the Congress.
News24-Today's Chanakya
News24-Today's Chanakya, too, predicted a clear majority for the BJP with 43 seats. Meanwhile, the polling agency projected 24 seats for the Congress and 3 for others.
ABP-CVoter
Exit poll results as per ABP-CVoter indicated the likeliness of a hung assembly, with 26-32 seats projected for the BJP and 32-38 seats for the Congress.
The AAP and other parties were predicted to win 0-2 and 3-7, respectively.
Further, the agency projected that the BJP will have a 41 percent vote share, the Congress 39 percent vote share, and the AAP 9 percent vote share.
Zee News-DesignBoxed
Exit poll results as per Zee News-DesignBoxed projected Congress' return to power with 35-40 seats, and estimated 26-32 seats for the BJP.
As per the projections, the BSP and other parties will win 2-3 and 1-3 seats, respectively.
The vote share was estimated to be 35 percent, 39 percent, and 8 percent for the BJP, Congress, and the BSP, respectively.
'There Will be More Seats Once Results Are Out': Uttarakhand CM
Reacting to the predictions, Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Dhami asserted his belief in the BJP win, saying that all surveys pointed towards the BJP retaining power.
"All exit polls are showing BJP will form government with a majority. Some are showing 45 seats, some 47... I believe there will be more when the final result is out," he told news agency ANI.
"The people of Uttarakhand have shown faith in us and (we) will form the government," he added.
Held on 14 February, the Uttarakhand Assembly elections saw a 62.5 percent voter turnout across the 13 districts. The votes will be counted on 10 March.
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