If the exit polls come true, the mandate will bolster PM Modi's image as the most popular politician in the country in decades and Yogi Adityanath as the next generation leader for the BJP.
New Delhi: If things go according to exit polls, the blind opponents of Narendra Modi will get a shock, and the biggest shock would be for the 'dynasts' Congress party and its leader Rahul Gandhi.
The exit polls for elections just held in five states, including India's most populous Uttar Pradesh, suggest that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP is expected to retain its hold in the key northern state, which sends 80 MPs to Lok Sabha. Some survey says nearly 45 per cent of people in Uttar Pradesh rested their confidence in the performance of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Without a doubt, BJP's comfortable win in Uttar Pradesh, as predicted by various exit polls, would mark a salutary effect on the leadership of PM Modi and the electoral popularity of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
It gives a huge boost to PM Modi's aim of winning a third straight term in the 2024 general election, and the return of the BJP to power in Lucknow would mark a huge endorsement of the party's electoral management of Amit Shah and organisational leadership of the party's national president J P Nadda.
In contrast, in elections held in Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party is projected to win, making it clear that Congress would have to bow out of office. In another setback to Congress, contrary to earlier prediction, the party may fail to return to power even in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand.
In terms of numbers, the C-Voter exit poll has predicted 228-244 seats for the BJP in UP, 132-148 for the SP, 13-21 for the BSP, 4-8 for Congress and 2-6 for others.
Today's Chanakya exit poll predicts 294 seats for BJP in UP, 105 for SP, 2 for BSP, 1 for Congress and 1 for others.
Jan Ki Baat exit poll predicts 222-260 for BJP in UP, 135-165 for SP, 4-9 for BSP, 1-3 for Congress and 3-4 for others.
The Times Now-Veto exit poll has predicted 225 seats for BJP in UP, 151 for SP, 14 for Congress and 9 for others.
Union minister and Apna Dal (Soneylal) leader Anupriya Patel said she was not surprised by the exit poll predicting a sweep for the BJP and its allies in Uttar Pradesh." I was confident of a win," she added.
The India Today-Axis My India has predicted 288-326 seats for BJP in Uttar Pradesh, 71-101 for the Samajwadi Party, 3-9 for the Bahujan Samaj Party, 1-3 for the Congress and 2-3 for others.
The BJP seemed much comfortable even in Manipur, Goa and Uttarakhand. If the exit polls come true, the mandate will bolster PM Modi's image as the most popular politician in the country in decades.
The prophets of doom and India's self-styled sickular establishment had made issues out of handling the COVID-19 crisis, jobs, and so-called anger against agrarian reforms that the Prime Minister rolled back in November 2021 after year-long protests.
On the other hand, the BJP has maintained that its good governance counted a lot in four states of UP, Manipur, Uttarakhand and Goa.
In UP, the Yogi government's policies like giving free staples to the poor during the pandemic, a fall in crime rates, and Modi-Yogi's immense personal popularity, especially among Hindu voters perhaps, have done the trick.
A massive win in Uttar Pradesh could also be seen as people's nod to monk-turned-politician Yogi Adityanath as the next generation leader for the BJP.
The Congress defeat would mark the second major setback to Rahul Gandhi, as the grand old party failed to return to power in Kerala in the last year's Assembly elections.
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