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Live Updates: Today's Chanakya Gives Around 350 Seats To NDA; ABP Predicts 287 Seats

Exit Polls predict huge turnaround for the BJP in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, West Bengal.
NurPhoto via Getty Images

Polling has concluded across 542 Lok Sabha constituencies across all states and union territories in India. Exit polls released immediately after predict a sweeping victory for Narendra Modi and the BJP.

News18-IPSOS, Times Now-CNX, NewsX-Neta, Republic Bharat-Jan Ki Baat, Republic-CVoter, ABP-CSDS, Today’s Chanakya and India Today-Axis are the major exit polls released today.

Here are the live updates

9:30 pm: Today’s Chanakya predicts major victory for BJP

Today’s Chanakya said the BJP alone would win around 300 (+/- 14 seats) and the NDA 350 (+/- 14 seats)

8:35 pm: Exit Polls Predict Big Win For BJP In Bihar

Republic TV: NDA 33, UPA 7

Times Now-VMR: NDA 30, UPA 10

8:20 pm: Congress Spokesperson Sanjay Jha Calls Exit Polls Farcical

8:15 pm: ABP Exit Polls Predict 287 Seats For NDA

8:10 pm: News18-IPSOS Predicts NDA Landslide With 336 Seats

Even the News18-IPSOS exit poll has predicted a NDA landslide with 336 seats. They have predicted only 82 seats for the Congress and 124 for others.

8:05 pm: Here Are The Exit Poll numbers For Tamil Nadu

Times Now-VMR: NDA 09, UPA 29

Republic TV : NDA 11, UPA 27

7:45 pm: Omar Abdullah’s Sage Advice On Exit Polls

7:40 pm: Don’t Trust Exit Poll Gossip, Says Mamata Banerjee

7:25 pm: Republic-Jan Ki Baat Predicts 305 Seats For NDA

7:23 pm: News Nation Exit Polls Predict Between 282-290 Seats For NDA

7:10 pm: Exit Polls Show BJP To Make Massive Gains In West Bengal, Emerge As Number 2

As shown in this screenshot from NDTV, the compiled numbers from all the exit polls show that BJP will emerge as number 2 in West Bengal, making massive gains.

NDTV

6:57 pm: News18-IPSOS Predicts Congress Decimation In Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh

The News18-IPSOS Exit Poll predicts that in Chhattisgarh the BJP will get between 7 and 9 seats out of 11 seats.

In Rajasthan News18-IPSOS Exit Poll gives 22-23 seats for the BJP and 2-3 seats for the Congress.

6:53 pm: Jagan Mohan Reddy Leads In Andhra Pradesh

NDTV’s poll of polls shows YSR Congress and Jagan Mohan Reddy taking lead in Andhra Pradesh.

6:47 pm: NDTV Polls Of Polls Predicts Over 300 Seats For NDA

6:40 pm CVOTER Gives NDA 287 Seats

Republic-CVOTER exit polls also predicted a comfortable victory for the NDA winning 287 seats. It projects 128 seats for the UPA.

6:35 pm: Times Now-VMR Poll Predicts NDA Win With 306

The Times Now-VMR poll predicts a huge win for the NDA winning 306 seats, 132 for the UPA and others 104.

5:40 pm: Polling Concludes For 2019 Lok Sabha Elections

5:20 pm: Mamata Banerjee Says BJP, CRPF Did ‘Torture’ In Bengal During Polling

After casting her votes in Kolkata, Mamata Banerjee told ANI, “Since morning the torture that BJP workers and CRPF have done during polling in our state, I have never seen it before,” said Mamata Banerjee after casting her vote.

5:10 pm: 52.74% Voter Turnout Recorded Till 5 pm

A total voter turnout of 52.74% had been recorded across eight states and union territories till 5 pm.

Here is the state-wise turnout:

Bihar: 46.66%

Himachal Pradesh: 56.67%

Madhya Pradesh: 59.51%

Punjab: 49.63%

Uttar Pradesh: 47.21%

West Bengal: 64.70%

Jharkhand: 66.64%

Chandigarh: 51.18%

4:46 pm: Punjab CM Slams ‘Ambitious’ Sidhu; Says He Harmed Congress’ Prospects In Polls

Congress star campaigner Navjot Singh Sidhu is in deep trouble with Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Sunday criticing him for his ill- timed comment against him and said that it may damage Congress prospects in the state.

“I know him since childhood. Perhaps he is ambitious and wants to become the Chief Minister of Punjab but he should have chosen a better time to air his grievances against me. Doing it just a day before the elections may cost heavily to the Congress in the state,” said Singh said adding that the party may take action against Sidhu.

On Saturday, Sidhu, while supporting his wife’s claim that Singh and Senior Congress leader Asha Kumari were responsible for the denial of her MP ticket from Amritsar, had said that she had spoken the truth.

“My wife will never lie. She has that much strength and moral authority that she will never lie. This is my answer,”said Sidhu when asked to comment on the accusations levelled by his wife, said Sidhu when asked to come on her allegations against Punjab CM. Last week, Sidhu’s wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu held the Punjab CM Kumari responsible for her not getting a ticket from Amritsar.

(With inputs from Rachna Khaira.)

4:44 pm: Chiriyawan Village In Gaya’s Jehanabad Boycotts polls

Locals of the Chiriyawan village in Gaya’s Jehanabad boycotted polls and protested outside a polling booth saying, ‘no road, no vote’. The MLA from the village alleged that their village was not on the map, hence there was no point of voting.

Earlier in the day ANI had reported a ‘no road, no vote’ protest from a village in Nalanda.

4:39 pm: Mamata Banerjee Casts Vote In Kolkata

4.18 pm: How India’s First Voter Was Welcomed To The Polling Booth

Read his story here.

4:07 pm: 52.89% Turnout Till 4pm

A turnout of 52.89% has been recorded till 4pm across eight states and one union territory.

3.58 pm: Police Official Allegedly Attacked For Stopping Bogus Voting In Bihar’s Arrah

3:49 pm: TMC Accuses Central Forces Of ‘Intimidating’ Voters On Orders Of BJP Leaders

The Trinamool Congress alleged that the central forces were “brutally torturing” and “intimidating” voters in West Bengal and acting as per orders of BJP leaders, PTI reported.

“Today, in Bengal, central forces are brutally torturing and intimidating common citizens, especially the marginalised. Even physically handicapped persons are being tortured. Central forces are also threatening voters ‘kamal dabao nahin toh thok dega’ (vote for BJP or will shoot you),” Derek O’ Brien said.

The BJP termed the allegations baseless and said it was goons supported by the TMC who were trying to intimidate voters.

3:40 pm: Modi’s Badrinath, Kedarnathv Visits Violated Poll Code: TDP To EC

TDP has written to the EC alleging poll code violation by Modi over his visits to Badrinath and Kedarnath shrines.

3:32 pm: Clashes In Bathinda, One Person Opens Fire

3:23 pm: Poll Official Dies On Duty In Gorakhpur

An election official, Rajaram, 56, was deputed to booth number 381 at Prathmik Vidhyalay Madhopur in Pipraich area under the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat, assistant election officer J N Maurya said..

He was rushed to Pipraich community health centre where he was declared dead. The body has been sent for post-mortem, he said.

3.14 pm: Polling Stopped At 2 Booths In Bihar’s Paliganj After Clash Between Two Groups

3:04 pm: Voter Turnout Till 3pm

Total voter turnout of 44.01% had been recorded across eight states and union territories.

Here is the state-wise turnout:

Bihar: 37.67%

Himachal Pradesh: 45.62%

Madhya Pradesh: 47.57%

Punjab: 41.97%

Uttar Pradesh: 39.85%

West Bengal: 52.23%

Jharkhand: 56.40%

Chandigarh: 37.5%

2:53 pm: Conjoined Sisters Cast Votes As Separate Individuals For The First Time

2:45pm: SP Delegation Meets EC

An SP delegation met EC officials to complain of ‘unfair elections’ in Uttar Pradesh. Its complaint includes an alleged attempt to capture polling booth in Chandauli and BJP workers allegedly inking Dalit voters and paying them Rs 500 to keep away from voting, Firstpost reported.

2:36pm: Actor Farhan Akhtar’s Tweet Gaffe

Farhan Akhtar was mocked online for his tweet asking Bhopal to vote against hate and controversial BJP candidate Pragya Thakur. Akhtar trended on as users pointed out is comment has come one week too late, as Bhopal voted on 12 May.

The tweet is still up.

2:30pm: Jharkhand Cop Accused of ‘Pressurising’ Voters, Removed From Polling Duty

A police officer in Jharkhand’s Pakur cop has been removed from poll duty after after he was accused of pressurising voters to vote for Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s candidate, Firstpost reported. Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Electoral Officer had him removed from the polling booth.

2:18 pm: TMC’s Madan Mitra Argues With Security Personnel

According to the Indian Express, TMC candidate Madan Mitra said he and other party polling agents were not being given permission to go inside booth number 106.

2:12 pm: No Difference Of opinion With Sidhu, He Probably Wants To Be CM, Says Amarinder

1:57pm: Want Central Forces In Bengal Till Poll Code Ends, Says Nirmala Sitharaman

“Bengal CM has been issuing threats from the begin. This is why we are concerned for the time after polling is over. We demand that the Central Armed Forces remain there till model code of conduct ends,” Nirmala Sitharaman says

1:42pm: Naidu Rallies Opposition Leaders

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu held a second round of talks with top opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Sharad Pawar, in an apparent bid to rally support for a non-BJP government at the Centre.

Naidu had met Gandhi, NCP chief Pawar, Loktantrik Janata Dal leader Sharad Yadav and leaders of the Communist Party of India on Saturday as well.

He then flew to Lucknow and met Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati.

1:34 pm: Windscreen Of Tej Pratap’s Car Broken, Cameraperson Beaten

Lalu Yadav’s son Tej Pratap Yadav’s personal security guards in Patna beat up a camera person after he allegedly broke the windscreen of Yadav’s car. Yadav was leaving after casting his vote.

Yadav said, “My bouncers have not done anything. I was leaving after casting my vote when a photographer hit the windscreen of my car. I have filed an FIR in the incident. A conspiracy is being hatched to kill me.”

1:20 pm: Murli Manohar Joshi Casts Vote From Varanasi

Veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi cast his vote from Varanasi on Sunday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in fray from the holy city, looking to win with a record margin of votes.

1:15 pm: Congress Candidate Shatrughan Sinha Casts Vote From Patna Sahib

1:12 pm: 27.73% Voter Turnout Recorded Till 1 pm.

A voter turnout of 27.73% was recorded across eight states and union territories in the first two hours of polling till 1 pm:

Here is the state wise voter turnout:

Bihar 18.90%

Himachal Pradesh 28.77%

Madhya Pradesh 30.92%

Punjab 27.09%

Uttar Pradesh 24.59%

West Bengal 34.89%

Jharkhand 42.11%

Chandigarh 22.30%

12:38 pm: Diamond Harbour BJP Candidate Nilanjan Roy’s Car Vandalised

12:15 pm: Navjot Singh Sidhu And Wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu Cast Their Votes In Amritsar

Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu and his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu cast their votes from Punjab’s Amritsar on Sunday. Polling is underway on all 13 Lok Sabha constituencies in Punjab.

12:03 pm: BJP Jadavpur Candidate Alleges Attack By TMC

BJP candidate from Kolkata’s Jadavpur Lok Sabha constituency, Anupam Hazara, told ANI, ” TMC goons have beaten up a BJP mandal president, a driver and attacked a car. We also rescued our three polling agents. TMC goons were going to carry out rigging at 52 booths. People are eager to vote for BJP but they are not allowing people to vote.”

12:00 Bihar Village Boycotts Polls Over Unfulfilled Poll Promises

11:31 am: TMC Women Workers Casting Proxy Votes With Their Faces Covered In Jadavpur, Alleges BJP

Bit like the ‘burkha’ allegations in Uttar Pradesh, BJP’s Jadavpur candidate Anupam Hazra has alleged that women Trinamool Congress workers were casting proxy votes with their faces covered.

11:16 am: Additional Forces Deployed In Booth 189 In West Bengal’s Basirhat

ANI reports that additional forces have been deployed in polling station number 189 in Basirhat in West Bengal. This was after the BJP candidate from the booth Sayantan Basu alleging that the Trinamool Congress workers were not allowing voters to cast their votes.

It was earlier reported that voters protested outside the booth because they were stopped from exercising their franchise.

11:10 am: 12.90% Recorded Across 59 Seats Till 11 am

A voter turnout of 12.90% was recorded across eight states and union territories in the first two hours of polling till 11 am:

Here is the state wise voter turnout:

Bihar 10.65%

Himachal Pradesh 13.25%

Madhya Pradesh 14.73%

Punjab 11.72%

Uttar Pradesh 11.28%

West Bengal 16.03%

Jharkhand 17.80%

Chandigarh 10.40%

10:55 am: Voters Protest Saying TMC Workers stopped Them From Casting Votes

Meanwhile in West Bengal, voters are protesting in Basirhat claiming TMC workers stopped them from casting their votes.

BJP candidate Sayantan Basu said about a 100 people were stopped from casting their votes.

10:50 am: BJP’s Anurag Thakur Votes From Hamirpur In Himachal Pradesh

10:40: India’s First Voter Has A Message For Other Voters

Looking forward to exercising his franchise once again Sunday, India’s “first” voter Shyam Saran Negi Saturday appealed to Himachal Pradeshelectors to elect “honest” candidates for all the four Lok Sabha seats in the state.

“Elect honest and active candidates for your parliamentary seats instead of voting for particular parties,” 102-year-old Negi told PTI.

Read the entire story here.

10:23 am: TMC Writes To EC Over Modi’s Widely Publicised Kedarnath Yatra

The blame game between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP continued in Bengal, with the TMC writing to EC over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Kedarnath Yatra.

“Election campaign for last phase of polling for Lok Sabha polls is over, surprisingly Narendra Modi’s Kedarnath Yatra is being widely covered by the media for the last 2 days. This is a gross violation of model code of conduct,” ANI reported TMC as saying.

10:10 am: BJP Candidate From Kolkata South Says TMC Goons Threatened Workers

9:35 am: 9.45% Voter Turnout In First Two Hours Of Polling

A voter turnout of 9.45% was recorded across eight states and union territories in the first two hours of polling till 9 am:

Here is the state wise voter turnout:

Bihar 10.65%

Himachal Pradesh 2.14%

Madhya Pradesh 11:00%

Punjab 8.17%

Uttar Pradesh 6.97%

West Bengal 13.41%

Jharkhand 14.38%

Chandigarh 10.40%

9:17 am: No Violence In UP, Unlike Inn Bengal, Says Yogi

9:16 am: Ravi Shankar Prasad Casts Vote From Patna

8:37 am: Mamata’s Nephew Abhishek Banerjee Threatens To Drag Modi To Court

Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee casts his vote at polling booth no 208 in the South Kolkata Parliamentary Constituency. Speaking to the media after, he said, “Whatever he (PM Modi) said in meeting on 15 May in Diamond Harbour, he has to substantiate those statements with ample proof & justify what he said. If he fails to do so I’ll sue him in the criminal & defamation cases. I’ll drag him to the court and do the needful.”

8:35 am: BJP’s Kolkata South Candidate CK Bose Casts His Vote

8:05 am: Three Officers On Poll Duty Die In Himachal

Three government employees have died due to different ailments while performing their poll duties in Himachal Pradesh on Saturday, a state election official said. The deceased include presiding officer Vaneet Kumar who was a PGT at government senior school at Sapri in tribal Kinnaur district, homeguard jawan Devi Singh who was resident of Chandera village in Arki Tehsil of Solan district and polling officer Lol Ram who was a junior technician and was resident of Sajla village in Manali tehsil of Kullu district.

7:57 am: EVM Glitch In Patna Sahib Poll Booth

ANI reported that EVM malfunction was being reported at booth no 6 in Pant Nagar of Patna Sahib.

7:48 am: Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Modi Casts Vote

7:47 am: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar Casts Vote, Says Elections Shouldn’t Be Held For Such Long Duration

7:30 am: Indelible Ink Forcefully Applied On Fingers Of Chandauli Residents

In Uttar Pradesh’s Chandauli Lok Sabha constituency, residents of the Tara Jivanpur have alleged that indelible ink was forcefully applied to their fingers by BJP men so that they couldn’t vote the next day.

7:21 am PM Modi Urges Voters To Turnout In Record Numbers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in fray from Varanasi today, urged voters to turnout in record numbers in phase 7.

“Today is the final phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. I urge all those voting in this phase to vote in record numbers. Your one vote will shape India’s development trajectory in the years to come. I also hope first time voters vote enthusiastically,” he said in a tweet.

7:10 am: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Cast His Vote

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath cast his vote in Gorakhpur this morning. He has feverishly campaigned for the BJP candidate from the constituency — Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan. (Read Ravi Kishan’s profile)

The seat was represented by Yogi Adityanath in Lok Sabha from 1998 to 2017, before he became the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.

7:03 am: Polling Begins For Phase 7

7:00 am: Narendra Modi, Shatrughan Sinha, Kirron Kher In Fray

Voting in the 7th and final phase of the over a month long 2019 Lok Sabha elections is all set to begin at 7 am on Sunday. Polling will take place in 59 seats across seven states and on union territory with Prime Minister Narendra Modi (profile), Shatrughan Sinha (profile), Anurag Thakur, Kirron Kher (profile) and debutante Sunny Deol (profile) in fray.

The elections that saw a divisive and polarised campaign with the BJP seeking to come back to power will finally come to an end. Counting will be on 23 May.

For the latest elections news and more, follow HuffPost India on Twitter, Facebook, and subscribe to our newsletter.

All eyes will be on West Bengal that saw violence in the past week. This forced the Election Commission use, for the first time in the history of Indian elections, to use Article 324 of the Constitution to curtail the campaigning, a day before its scheduled deadline.

The BJP has feverishly campaigned in Bengal, with grand rallies by Modi, BJP president Amit Shah (profile) and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, looking to make in-roads in the state. Banerjee is meanwhile fighting to retain her turf in Kolkata’s Jadavpur, Kolkata North and Kolkata South seats.

Modi and Banerjee engaged in a blame game over the vandalisation of the bust of education reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar after Shah’s rally in Kolkata. As the bitter campaign in the TMC-ruled Bengal was curtailed, Modi said his government was committed towards Vidyasagar’s vision and promised to install his grand statue at the same spot in Kolkata. Rejecting Modi’s offer, Banerjee said Bengal does not need BJP’s money and that the state has enough to rebuild the statue. “We do not seek alms from the BJP.” The prime minister and the TMC supremo also traded charges as to who was responsible for the vandalisation of the bust. While Modi said the bust was vandalised allegedly by “TMC goondas”. Banerjee claimed it was BJP “hooligans” who had destroyed a heritage of the state.

“We have been witnessing the attitude of didi for long and now the country is also seeing it. Dedicated to the vision of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, our government will install a panchdhatu (made up of five metals) statue at the very spot and give a reply to TMC goondas,” he said addressing a poll rally in Mau in Uttar Pradesh.

Meanwhile, Banerjee told a rally in Mandirbazar that it is a matter of shame for Bengalis that the bust of Vidyasagar was vandalised: “Bengal does not seek alms from BJP. We have the money for a new bust of Vidyasagar, who was part of Bengal Renaissance. Don’t you (BJP) feel ashamed saying that Bengal has been reduced to a state of being a pauper”.

The Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jaynagar, Mathurapur and Diamond Harbour seats also go to the polls today.

In Uttar Pradesh, Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Deoria, Bansgaon, Ghosi, Salempur, Ballia, Ghazipur, Chandauli, Varanasi, Mirzapur and Robertsganj go to the polls.

Varanasi is probably the most important in this phase with Modi seeking re-election from the seat. BJP bigwigs have camped out at Varanasi to ensure no effort is spared to ensure a big win. Hindustan Times reported that everyone from Piyush Goyal and Sushma Swaraj to Rajyavardhan Rathore was in the holy city campaigning from the prime minister. The report said that BJP was aiming to break the record margin of 371,785 votes with which Modi had defeated the AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal in 2014.

In a bid to eat into BJP’s vote in Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party Alliance has criticised Modi bitterly in Varanasi.

Addressing an election rally SP with chief Akhilesh Yadav and RLD’s Ajit Singh, Mayawati targeted Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, saying the “government of guru and chela (disciple)” would be ousted from power on May 23, the day results of Lok Sabha polls would be announced.

The BSP again alleged that women in the BJP are scared of their husbands meeting the prime minister fearing they might also “abandon their wives”. “As the election is coming to an end Modi now remembers women and talk about giving them respect....How can one expect Modi, who cannot respect his wife, to do so for mothers and sisters,” Mayawati said.

Meanwhile, Akhilesh Yadav said that after 23 May, the country will get a new prime minister. He accused Modi of selling “false dreams” to the people and then “betraying” them He said the BJP and Modi had promised to transform Varanasi into Kyoto (city of Japan), but failed.

Modi is contesting against Congress’s Ajay Rai and SP-BSP alliance candidate Shalini Yadav.

In Punjab, all the 13 Lok Sabha seats — Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Khadoor Sahib, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Anandpur Sahib, Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib, Faridkot, Firozpur, Bathinda, Sangrur, Patiala — go to the polls.

While Sunny Deol is contesting elections for the first time from the Gurdaspur seat, Kirron Kher is seeking re-election from Chandigarh.

Nalanda, Patna Sahib, Pataliputra, Arrah, Buxar, Sasaram, Karakat and Jehanabad go to polls in Bihar. It will be an interesting contest in Patna Sahib. While Shatrughan Sinha is the incumbent MP, he contested 2014 elections from the BJP and moved to the Congress ahead of the 2019 elections. Now Sinha is seeking re-election and is pitted against BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Four seats in Himachal, eight seats in MP and three seats in Jharkhand also go to the polls today.

The EC also ordered repolling in a poll booth in New Delhi’s Chandni Chowk and at 4 booths in Kerala’s Kasargod because of bogus voting.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.