Elections In 5 States: Stellar Show By BJP And AAP
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2022-03-10 07:42:26
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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack
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Early trends from the counting centres have more or less confirmed what the exit polls had predicted on March 7 - the BJP is retaining UP, AAP is getting a huge mandate in Punjab and Goa is going to come up with a hung assembly. The exit polls were off the mark in Uttarakhand where the BJP is getting a comfortable majority as per early trends and in Manipur where the BJP is way ahead of the opposition.
As per the latest trends, the BJP is ahead in 269 seats in UP while the SP trails at 122; in Punjab, AAP has blown everyone away in Punjab by leading in 90 seats and the Congress is a distant second with 18; in Goa the BJP is ahead in 18 while the Congress trails at 11 and the TMC alliance is ahead in 4, AAP in 3 and others in 4; in Uttarakhand the BJP has raced ahead to 42 while the Congress is at just 25 and in Manipur, the BJP is ahead in 30 while the Congress trails at just 9 and the NPP has done well to lead in 9 while the JD(U) is ahead in 2.
As per the reading of the early trends, it seems that the BJP will form the government in all states except Punjab. This is a huge win for the party. The spectacular victory in UP will make Yogi Adityanath a very powerful leader within the party (as this the first time than an incumbent has been voted back to power in UP since 1985 and a win in UP was absolutely essential for BJP's 2024 campaign) while the comfortable win in Uttarakhand will cement the position of Pushkar Singh Dhami although he is trailing behind his Congress rival from Khatima.
The real drama is likely to happen in Goa where the BJP is likely to fall short by a couple of seats. While the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) (currently an alliance partner of the TMC) was reportedly in talks with both the BJP and the Congress, as the Congress has fallen way behind, there is little chance of it forming the government even with MGP support. The MGP has a thing against outgoing chief minister Pramod Sawant and the BJP will need all its persuasive powers to bring it on board if Sawant is made chief minister again. In Manipur, the BJP is ahead in 28 (majority mark 31) and is likely to form the government with either the JD(U) or independents if the NPP does not come on board.
(All figures at the time of publishing the article)
