Punjab Prepares To Tally Assembly Poll Ballots, Assembly Elections: Punjab prepares to count votes in a tight race between the BJP, AAP, Congress, and SAD.
The stage is set for the counting of votes for 117 assembly seats in Punjab on Thursday, where the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP has emerged as a major contender, while the Congress seeks to maintain power in the multi-cornered election.
Several exit polls predict that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would form the next government in Punjab, but others predict a hung legislature in the state, which saw a high-stakes election on February 20.
On Wednesday, Punjab Chief Electoral Officer S Karuna Raju announced that vote counting will begin at 8 a.m. at 117 polling stations in 66 locations.
Bhagwant Mann, the AAP’s chief ministerial face and state unit head, has also voiced confidence that his party will form the state’s next administration.
Sukhbir Badal, the leader of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), predicted that his party, which fought elections in coalition with the Bahujan Samaj Party, will win more than 80 seats.
Despite the fact that some exit polls predicted that the Congress would fail to establish a government for the second time in a row, Punjab Congress leaders claimed that their party would win. Bhagwant Mann, the Aam Aadmi Party’s chief ministerial face and state unit head, has also declared his support.
Following the reorganisation of Punjab in 1966, the SAD and the Congress alternated in forming the administration. The stakes are high for the Congress, which wants to keep Punjab within its control. It named Charanjit Singh Channi as the CM candidate and hoped for a large turnout of Scheduled Caste voters. Punjab has a Scheduled Caste population of roughly 32%.
Various measures achieved during Channi’s 111-day tenure, such as lowering power tariffs and slashing fuel costs, were also credited to the Congress, which is a major player in state politics.
The stakes are especially high for the SAD, which ran in coalition with the BSP after dissolving electoral connections with the BJP in 2020 over the subject of farm laws. With Sukhbir Singh Badal at the helm, the future seems bright. The SAD is hoping for making a comeback after it was relegated to the third spot in the 2017 assembly polls.
Uttarakhand
At 8 a.m., the votes for the state’s 70 assembly seats will be counted. The Uttarakhand Assembly Elections, which took place on February 14, saw almost 65 percent of eligible voters cast ballots.
While many people leave,
In Uttarakhand, polls have given either the BJP or the Congress a majority, and several have predicted a close race between the two major parties or a hung assembly – a scenario in which winning independents and candidates from regional parties such as the AAP, SP, BSP, and UKD will play a significant role in forming the government.
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On 40 to 45 seats, the BJP and Congress are locked in a straight fight, while regional parties make the struggle triangular on 25-30 seats. Though both the BJP and the Congress have expressed confidence in securing a clear majority, their leaders have conducted multiple closed-door meetings in the last few days to discuss various situations that may arise following the election results.
Rebels who entered the race as independents against their official nominees are also being watched by the major parties. This time, the BJP fielded thirteen rebels while the Congress fielded six.
In 2017, the BJP won 57 of the state’s 70 assembly seats, while the Congress received only 11 seats. The BJP’s main challenge in Uttarakhand is matching its overwhelming victory in the last elections and holding power for a second consecutive term against a resurgent Congress aiming to launch a comeback.
Manipur
With exit polls suggesting that the BJP will win the Manipur assembly elections in 2022, the BJP is looking forward to the results, while the Congress is hoping to prevent its adversary from regaining power in the state.
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Various exit polls have forecast a BJP victory in the state, with the party expected to win 23 to 43 seats, while the Congress is expected to win four to seventeen seats. The NPP is anticipated to win 4-14 seats, while the NPF, a BJP partner, is predicted to win 2-8 seats.
Goa
At 8 a.m., the results of the February 14 assembly elections will be counted.
Despite gaining 17 seats in the 2017 elections, the Congress was unable to establish a government because the BJP, which had won 13 seats, combined with some independents and regional parties to create the government under Manohar Parrikar.
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With the Trinamool Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, Shiv Sena-NCP, and other significant contenders joining the battle alongside the BJP and Congress, Goa saw a multi-cornered election. The assembly elections in 2022 were the first since the death of Manohar Parrikar, the state’s tallest BJP politician who spent four times as chief minister.
The Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party allied with the Trinamool Congress in the 2022 elections, while the Goa Forward Party formed a pre-election alliance with the Congress. The NCP and Shiv Sena had hoped to form an alliance with the Congress, but they joined forces after the grand old party turned them down.