Assembly Election Results 2022 Live Updates: The counting of votes for the 690 seats spread across five states started at 8 am. As the results to the five-state Assembly polls start rolling in, all eyes will be fixed on the dead-heat race in Uttarakhand and Goa, where the both the BJP and the Congress are fighting out a fierce battle, according to the exit polls. While most pollsters believe it to be an easy ride for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh and Manipur, Punjab is expected to offer an unexpected change in power in the form of AAP.
Various exit polls have predicted that the AAP’s Bhagwant Mann will unseat Charanjit Singh Channi as the next Chief Minister of Punjab. However, a few exit polls have also forecast a hung assembly in the state which had witnessed a high-stakes contest on February 20. Counting of votes will start at 117 centres in 66 locations, said Punjab Chief Electoral Officer S Karuna Raju on Wednesday.
The elections to the five states — Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur — had kicked off on February 10, with Punjab and Manipur going to the polls at a later date. While the seven-phase UP polls ended on March 7, the Manipur elections were held in two phases — on February 28 and March 5. Punjab went to the polls on February 20, whereas the election in Uttarakhand and Goa were conducted on February 14.
In Uttar Pradesh, the parties to look out for today are the ruling BJP, Samajwadi Party, Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party. In Punjab, the battle is among Congress, BJP, Shiromani Akali Dal, Aam Aadmi Party and the newly formed Sanyukt Sangharsh Party, which was helmed by farmers at the forefront of the protest against the now-withdrawn contentious farm laws, and ex-CM Amarinder Singh’s Punjab Lok Congress. Goa, too, saw a multi-cornered contest with the BJP, Trinamool Congress, AAP and Congress in fray. In Manipur, BJP is pitted against the Manipur Progressive Secular Alliance comprising the Congress, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Forward Bloc, Revolutionary Socialist Party and Janata Dal (Secular). Uttarakhand mainly witnessed a fight between BJP and Congress, even as a new player, AAP, joined the fray this time.
Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu loses from Amritsar East by a margin of 6,750 votes.
Charanjit Singh Channi is trailing behind Aam Aadmi Party candidates in his traditional seat, Chamkaur Sahib, as well as in Bhadaur.
SBSPA's Arvind Rajbhar trails in Shivpur assembly seat in Varanasi. BJP's Tribhuvan Ram is leading from Agra. BJP Ravindra Jaiswal leading from Northern Assembly. Saurabh Srivastava trails in Cantt Legislative Assembly seat.