Lotus will surely blossom in Assam: BJP on early poll trends

With early trends showing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) shooting ahead in Assam, the leaders of the Saffron outfit exuded confidence and said that they are sure that they will surely open an account in the North-East and will increase their vote share in rest of the states.

BJP leader Shrikant Sharma said, "For sure the lotus is blooming in Assam. The BJP is very hopeful of positive results in Assam. I believe that BJP will with complete majority in Assam."

"Coming on to other states, the BJP is doing better than previous times. Our vote share this time will surely increase in West Bengal, Kerala, Assam and Tamil Nadu," he added.

BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya reiterated similar sentiments and credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the development taking place under his regime for the upliftment of BJP in areas where it could never form a government in the past.

"In Assam we are definitely going to win and increase our vote share in other states. The way our nation is developing under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi states where our presence was low, people are now getting attracted towards the BJP," said Vijayvargiya.

First trends emerging out of Kerala show LDF leading in 18 seats while the UDF leading in seven constituencies.

In West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) was leading in eleven seats, Left in three seats while BJP was leading in one seat till the last reports came in.

Heavy presence of security personnel was seen outside counting centres across five states, with multiple tiers of security being put in place to ensure smooth counting.

Meanwhile, AIADMK supporters gathered outside Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's Poes Garden residence in Chennai in good numbers to wish luck for their beloved leader.

Although the final picture would be clear only by noon, early trends are likely to emerge as soon as the counting starts at 8 a.m. Election Commission has reportedly said counting of votes will be over by 3 p.m.

Exits polls have predicted an edge for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam, while an outright win for incumbent Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal.

The counting of votes will decide the fate of approximately 8,300 candidates, including political stalwarts like Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Chief Minister M Rangaswamy in Puducherry.