Congress to reclaim Haryana, INDIA edge in J&K tight fight: India Today exit poll

The Congress and its allies are up for a strong showing in the Haryana Assembly election, according to the India Today-CVoter exit poll. In Jammu and Kashmir, there could be a close contest with the Congress-National Conference alliance holding the edge.
The India Today-CVoter exit poll for Jammu and Kashmir is based on 20,013 interviews conducted in all 90 Assembly constituencies. In Haryana, 13,817 interviews were conducted in all 90 constituencies for the exit poll. Health warning: Exit polls can get it wrong.
In Haryana, the Congress is projected to win a full majority with 50-58 seats in the 90-member Assembly, an improvement from its tally of 31 in the 2019 polls. The ruling BJP, which is looking for a hat-trick of wins in the state, is likely to get 20-28 seats, a drop from 40 seats in 2019.
As per the exit poll data, the Congress’s strong showing in the state comes at the expense of the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), which got 10 seats in the last election but is projected to get 0-2 seats this time.
In Jammu and Kashmir, the Congress-National Conference alliance is projected to win 40-48 out of 90 Assembly seats. The BJP is likely to win 27-32 seats and Mehbooba Mufti-led People’s Democratic Party (PDP) may get 6-12 seats. Other parties and Independent candidates could win 6-11 seats.
While the Congress, National Conference and People’s Democratic Party are part of the opposition INDIA bloc at the national level, the Mehbooba Mufti-led party decided to contest independently. The decision, however, may not be fruitful for the PDP as the exit poll data suggests the party’s tally may fall from 28 in the last election to 6-12 seats.
On the 43 seats in the Jammu region, the BJP is likely to retain its strong presence with the exit poll predicting 27-31 seats for the saffron party. The Congress-National Conference alliance may get 11-15 seats and the PDP may win 0-2 seats.
On the 47 seats in the Kashmir Valley, the exit poll predicts a strong performance of the Congress-National Conference alliance with 29-33 seats, an improvement from 16 seats in the 2014 election. The PDP, which won 25 seats in the Valley in 2014, may get 6-10 seats this time.
The BJP, which drew a blank in the Valley in the 2014 election, may also open its account this time.