Madhya Pradesh results 2018: Most of the exit polls had predicted an edge for the Congress in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh — three of the five states that went to Assembly polls between November 12 and December 7. While the first two states are throwing up results on expected lines, as votes polled in the Assembly elections are being counted in the five states, Madhya Pradesh is keeping the ruling BJP’s hopes alive.
There was always a direct battle between the Congress and the BJP, despite the presence of a third front led by BSP, and the contest is turning out to be a close one, giving nail-biting moments to both the parties and keeping every one guessing about the final verdict.
The 230-seat MP Assembly went to elections in a single-phase polling on November 28. The BJP has been ruling the state for 15 years now, with Shivraj Chauhan serving as the CM for three terms.
READ | Assembly election results 2018 LIVE updates
Ever since the counting began on Tuesday, the Madhya Pradesh results tally has kept changing, keeping the Congress on top at one moment and the BJP at the very next. After the first round, when the postal ballots had been counted, the BJP was int he lead. The trend, however, reversed as the Congress came out leading.
Till last reports came in, the Congress was leading in 115 seats, one short of majority, and the BJP in 105. The saffron party had 165 MLAs in the outgoing Assembly.
Both Congress and BJP leaders have been saying since morning that they would win with a majority. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said he was confident that the BJP would retain power.