An hour after the counting of votes began on Sunday for the Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana Assembly elections, early trends show that the BJP is set to retain Madhya Pradesh while Congress races ahead in Chhattisgarh and Telangana.
Rajasthan, where exit polls favoured the saffron party, is witnessing a tight battle between the ruling Congress and BJP, with the latter having an edge.
Counting commenced at 8 am amid tight security for 230 seats in Madhya Pradesh, 90 seats in Chhattisgarh, 119 seats in Telangana and 199 seats in Rajasthan as polling on one seat in the desert state was put off due to the death of a candidate. In Mizoram, counting will be held on Monday.
In Madhya Pradesh, 30 minutes into the counting, mostly postal votes, the saffron party has had a clear lead. However, state Congress president Kamal Nath reacted to the trend, stating the party was still confident. "I have not seen any trends, I don't need to look at any trends till 11 am. I am very confident, I trust the voters of Madhya Pradesh," he told ANI.
Rajasthan, where the Congress government hoped to retain power, is witnessing a pro-BJP wave with the saffron party widening its majority.
Meanwhile, the Congress is putting up a splendid show in Telangana where it looks certain to end BRS's winning streak. The party already has a clear lead as its candidates managed to shake the ruling party, including its chief K Chandrasekhar Rao in his constituencies, Kamareddy and Gajwel.
However, BRS leaders remained optimistic with MLC K Kavitha stating that the party was "very confident that we will win again with the blessings of the people of Telangana."
In Chattisgarh, the Congress is almost certain to retain power with early trends seeing a steady lead for the party. The ruling Congress was leading in 45 seats and the BJP in 32 seats as per trends available from counting of postal ballots in elections to the Chhattisgarh assembly.
