Election Result 2022: BJP set to sweep UP, U`khand, Goa, Manipur; AAP to win Punjab

Election Result 2022 Live updates: The elections occurred in 690 assembly constituencies in five states - Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa.

New Delhi: Counting has begun in five states - Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa. Early trends show Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) leading in UP, Uttarakhand, while Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is leading in Punjab.  The elections occurred in 690 assembly constituencies in these five states and the parties, including BJP, AAP, Congress, Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP), will soon know about their fate. 

We are winning on most of the seats in Uttarakhand: Harish Rawat

"We are winning on most of the seats and there's a close contest where we're trailing. In an hour, these leads will convert into a majority for the Congress in Uttarakhand and it will get a majority in Punjab as well," says Congress leader Harish Rawat in Dehradun.

Security forces strictly monitoring the counting process in Noida: Suhas LY, DM Gautam Budh Nagar

"Counting has started ... security forces are strictly monitoring the counting process along with local police and three-tier security system," says Suhas LY, DM Gautam Budh Nagar.

Assembly Election 2022: Poll story

According to Election Commission (EC), 671 counting observers, 130 police observers, and 10 Special Observers will be on the ground to ensure the smooth counting process. 

Amongst these five states, BJP holds power in four States including Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Goa and Uttarkhand. Further, there is a Congress government in Punjab. In the 403-member Uttar Pradesh assembly, the majority mark is 202 and the exit polls predicted that the BJP is poised to comfortably return to power with its allies for an unprecedented second term with most of them stating that the party's tally would be less than that in 2017 elections when it had scored a landslide victory. The Samajwadi Party (SP), which fought the polls with RLD and some other parties, would improve its performance, the exit polls predicted.

Most exit polls predicted a victory for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the 117-member Punjab Assembly with the scale of the party`s victory varying across various surveys. Several surveys predicted Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP, which is in power in Delhi, getting a landslide victory. The surveys also predicted that the ruling Congress will finish a distant second in the state followed by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) which had allied with Bahujan Samaj Party. If the results come as per the prediction of exit polls, it will be the first time that AAP will come to power in Punjab.

The multi-cornered contest in Goa could lead to a hung assembly verdict, exit polls predicted with some of them putting the BJP ahead but some also stating that Congress would the single-largest party close to the halfway mark in the 40-member state assembly. The exit polls predicted a close race in Uttarakhand, with many of them giving an edge to the BJP to form the government. Some exit polls also predicted that Congress would finish ahead and could cross the halfway mark in the 70-member Assembly.

The exit polls in Manipur gave a clear edge to the ruling BJP in forming the next government with many of them predicting that it may fall short of the halfway mark. The majority mark is 31 for the 60-member Manipur Assembly.