Assembly election results 2022: Top leaders visit temples as counting begins in 5 states, confident of their victory

NEW DELHI: As the counting of votes began on Thursday for the Assembly elections 2022 in five crucial states - Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Manipur, Punjab and Uttarakhand – top political leaders from across all parties visited temples and other religious places to seek divine blessings and remain confident of their victory in the high-stakes elections. 

BJP’s Rajeshwar Singh offered prayers at Chandrika Devi Temple ahead of the counting of votes in Uttar Pradesh.

Singh said, "The people have immense trust in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The BJP will form the government with a majority in the state. We will win more seats than the 2017 polls. The BJP will win the Sarojini Nagar seat by over one lakh votes."

Rajeshwar Singh is contesting the UP polls from the Sarojini Nagar constituency in Lucknow district.

AAP leader and party’s CM candidate Bhagwant Mann also offered prayers at gurdwara Gursagar Mastuana Sahib, Sangrur.

He too exuded confidence about his party’s landslide victory in polls.

Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi offered prayers in Chamkaur Sahib Gurudwara along with his family as results start pouring in for assembly elections.

Manipur CM N Biren Singh offered prayers at Shree Govindajee Temple in Imphal just as the counting began for the Assembly elections in his state.

On the other hand, Goa CM Pramod Sawant also went to offers prayers at Sri Datta Temple as the countdown began for the Goa Assembly polls.

Meanwhile, former Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat said, “I am confident about the victory of the Congress party in Uttarakhand. Everything will be clear in the next 2-3 hours. I have faith in the people of the state. I believe Congress will get close to 48 seats.”

The counting of votes for the Assembly elections 2022 in five crucial states - Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Manipur, Punjab and Uttarakhand - is currently underway amid unprecedented security arrangements put in place by the Election Commission.

More than 50,000 officials have been deployed for the counting of votes at nearly 1,200 halls in the five states and COVID-9 guidelines will be followed during the exercise that began at 8 AM amid tight security. 

Uttar Pradesh, which has a maximum of 403 assembly constituencies, is having more than 750 counting halls, followed by Punjab over 200. Over 650 counting observers have been deployed in the five states to monitor the process. Video and static cameras have been installed at all the counting centres in UP, an official said in Lucknow.

A total of 250 companies of CAPFs (Central Armed Police Forces) have been provided to all the districts and commissionerates of Uttar Pradesh on March 10, the police said. According to officials, a CAPF company usually has around 70-80 personnel.

UP

It is a high-stakes election in Uttar Pradesh for the BJP and the Narendra Modi government as the state sends the highest number of 80 MPs to Lok Sabha and the party's performance is expected to have a bearing on the next general election slated for 2024.

Several exit polls have forecast a clear majority for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh and for the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab, while predicting a hung assembly in Goa and a tight race between the BJP and the Congress in Uttarakhand. Except for Punjab, all other states were under the BJP. 

If the BJP gets a majority in the 403-member Assembly, it would be the first party to get a consecutive second term in over three decades.

As the post-poll scenario could throw up surprises due to multi-cornered contests, the parties have dispatched senior leaders to the states and were also wooing other parties to ensure that they get the better of their rival claimant in case outside support is needed to form a government.

Goa

With exit polls predicting a hung assembly in Goa, the Congress has sent Karnataka Congress chief D K Sivakumar as special observer to Goa and party general secretary Mukul Wasnik and Chhattisgarh Health Minister T S Singh Deo besides Vincent Pala to Manipur. 

The party had lost the race for government formation in the two states in 2017 despite emerging as the single largest party. Goa Congress chief Girish Chodankar said that AAP leaders were “already in talks with Congress leaders" and claimed that the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) too will support his party.

The Congress has shifted all the candidates in the coastal state to a luxury resort in Bambolim village near Panaji ahead of the counting of votes. Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant was in the national capital on Tuesday to discuss the evolving situation in his state with BJP leadership.

Uttarakhand

While many exit polls have given either the BJP or Congress a majority in the 70-member Assembly, several of them have predicted a close fight between the two major players or a hung assembly - a scenario in which the role of independents and regional outfits like the AAP, SP, BSP and UKD will become significant in government formation.

The BJP and Congress are locked in straight contests on 40 to 45 seats, while the regional outfits make the fight triangular on 25-30 seats. The major parties are also keeping an eye on rebels who entered the fray as independents against their official nominees. Thirteen rebels from the BJP and six from Congress contested this time.

Punjab

Arvind Kejriwal's AAP is hoping to script history by coming to power in Punjab also after ruling in Delhi for seven years. A total of 1,304 candidates, including 93 women and two transgenders, are in the fray in the 117 seats.

Though various exit polls predicted that the Congress would not be able to form the government for the second time in a row, Punjab Congress leaders have insisted that their party would secure victory.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Badal had claimed that his party, which fought elections in alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party, would win over 80 seats.

The BJP has said that it will make impressive gains while former chief minister Amarinder Singh has said that this party, the Punjab Lok Congress, and the BJP have done well in the elections.

Manipur

With exit polls predicting a BJP win in Manipur, the mood is upbeat in the party's state office in the heart of Imphal with workers busy cleaning premises and erecting fresh party flags on the boundary wall. The party has contested in all 60 seats.

However, former chief minister and Congress leader Okram Ibobi Singh has also exuded confidence that his party would come back to power. To prevent a repeat of 2017, when the Congress was the single-largest party with 28 seats but could not form the government, Singh said the party MLAs would this time take "precautionary measures like staying together at a place".

The Congress has already announced a pre-poll alliance with CPI, CPM, Forward Bloc, RSP and JD(S).