New Delhi: Bucking the poll trend in Uttarakhand, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to return to power for second consecutive term. The hilly state, with 20 years of history, has never seen return of sitting Chief Minister till date.

Axis My India Exit Poll gives a clear mandate to BJP and drubbing for Congress, unlike other poll agencies. In the poll projections, BJP is set to cross half-way of 35 seats in the 70-member Assembly. BJP is seen winning 36-46 seats while Congress is seen getting restricted to 20-30 seats.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is projected to get just 2-4 seats.

The vote share among both parties indicate a hard-fought contest because both are likely to grab over 40 vote percentage. BJP’s vote percentage is dropping from 47 to 44% while Congress is improving from 33% to 40%. The grand old party has bridged the gap against incumbent but not enough to put the Dhami government in peril.

AAP tested the political waters in state by highlighting & harnessing the military nature of hilly state but has to console itself with 3% vote share.

In Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is heading for its first ever government and projected to win clear majority. Congress, marred by internal disputes over several issues, is seen fairing poorly and may be restricted to just 19-31 seats. Rahul Gandhi took lead in revving up party’s campaign but exit polls don’t see it in number of seats.

In terms of vote share too, AAP is surging ahead with almost 16% jump in vote share as compared to previous elections. Congress is set to suffer major decline of about 10% in vote share.