Exit polls largely predict Mamata's return to power in Bengal, DMK's victory in Tamil Nadu, Left in Kerala

292 of total 294 assembly seats went to polls in West Bengal in 33 days from Mar 27 to Apr 29 with a fierce contest between the TMC and BJP.

Elections were postponed in two seats- Samserganj and Jangipur- due to the deaths of two candidates.

Taking on the TMC and BJP, the Left, which ruled the state for 34 uninterrupted years, stitched an alliance, named Sanjukta Morcha, with its political foe Congress and newly-formed Indian Secular Front (ISF).

C Voter predicted the TMC is likely to win 152-164 seats; BJP 109-121 seats; Morcha 14-25 seats.

ETG Research has predicted the TMC is likely to win 164-176 seats; BJP 105-115 seats; Morcha 10-15 seats; Others 0-1 seats.

P-Marq has stated there is a possibility that the TMC might emerge victorious in 152-172 seats; BJP 112-132 seats; Morcha 10-20 seats.

Poll Strat has predicted that Mamata's party may win 142-152 seats; BJP 125-135 seats; Morcha 16-26 seats in the elections which concluded on Thursday.

While the four agencies gave an indication of the TMC's hat trick of wins, Jan Ki Baat has predicted a completely different scenario. It has predicted that the BJP is set to win 162-185 seats; TMC 104-121 seats; Morcha 3-9 seats.

Two other agencies, Axis My India and CNX, have stated the high-octane, often bitter electoral battle can go either way or even lead to a hung assembly, which is a rare scenario in Bengal politics.

Axis My India has predicted the TMC to win 130-156 seats; BJP to win 134-160 seats; Morcha to win 0-2 seats; Others 0-1 seats.

CNX has predicted the TMC may win 128-138 seats; BJP 138-148; Morcha 11-21 seats.

Any party in 294-assembly needs to secure 148 to form the government.

It is important to note that the Left Front's tally of 199 seats in the 2001 assembly elections was the lowest by a winning party/alliance in decades in the state.

In 2016 assembly elections, the TMC had won 211 seats, which were the highest by any single party in decades.

How does the Bengal battle matters to TMC, BJP?

At a time when various political forces have been decimated in the country, a victory for the TMC in West Bengal would lead West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, whose party had faced massive defections months before the polls, to become one of the most prominent regional faces to take on the mighty BJP, which fought left and right to capture power in the eastern state for the first time.

A loss would certainly put an end to Mamata's political revolution against the Communist regime, which was uninstalled in 2011.

With a win in the polls, the BJP, whose election machinery was spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in West Bengal, would undoubtedly bring a tectonic shift in the politics of West Bengal, also emerging as an undisputed party across all regions of India.

Rubbishing the exit polls, BJP co-incharge of West Bengal, Amit Malviya, tweeted, "As the final phase for the Bengal election gets over, and exit polls start to trickle in, let me put out a little caution - no exit pollster had predicted 18 Lok Sabha seats for the BJP. The best projection was 7! So whatever the exit polls say, wait for the big numbers on 2nd!"

Contrary to Malviya's tweet, the BJP was predicted to win at least 16 seats by two agencies in the 2019 General Elections. 

Exuding confidence, TMC state spokesperson Sudip Raha tweeted, "Thank you Bengal... You have won! Your daughter @MamataOfficial has won against all the evil forces combined. Come 2nd May, the migrant leaders will fly back!"

BJP to retain Assam, bags Puducherry

Despite facing massive anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) protests just a year ago, the BJP, led by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and heavyweight Himanta Biswa Sarma, is set to return to power in Assam for the consecutive second time.

As per various exit polls, the saffron party will secure 69 seats while the Congress will lag behind with just 54.

Union territory Puducherry, which witnessed the downfall of the Congress government earlier this year, is likely to bring BJP in power, the exit polls predicted.

Out of 30 seats, the BJP and its allies can well win anything between 19-23 seats while the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) may get 6-10 seats; Others 1 seat.

DMK to decimate AIADMK in Tamil Nadu?

MK Stalin's DMK has been predicted by the exit polls to register a landslide victory in Tamil Nadu, which has 234 seats in total.

In the first assembly elections since AIADMK chief and former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's demise, the party and its allies have been predicted to be routed securing merely 57 seats while DMK and its allies are set to create history by winning 174 seats.

Left to return to power in Kerala?

As opposed to the trend of 45 years, the Communist party-led LDF is set to return to power in the southern state of Kerala, which generally votes for an alternate party every five years.

As per various polls, the Left is set to win 88 seats as opposed to Congress' 50 seats in the 140-member assembly.

The poll results for all four states and one union territory will be declared on May 2.