This Article is From May 15, 2014

NDTV Exit Poll: In Top 10 Parties, a Twist in the Tale

NDTV Exit Poll: In Top 10 Parties, a Twist in the Tale
The difference between number 1, the BJP, and number 2, the Congress on the list of top 10 parties in Parliament, according to the NDTV exit poll, is stark.

The BJP is expected to get 235 seats when votes are counted tomorrow, its best performance ever. Narendra Modi's party will be the only one with a three-digit number, the exit poll shows.

The Congress, in its worst showing, could be in double digits with 79.

Two women leaders, regional powerhouses, are up next with stunning performances.

Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of West Bengal, had asserted during her campaign that her Trinamool Congress would be the third largest party. She is almost there with 30 seats, says the exit poll, just pipped by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, who looks set to get 32.

No other party makes it over 20. The Left is likely to be just under at 19 seats.

BJP allies Shiv Sena and the Telugu Desam Party get collateral benefit to make it to the top 10, with 15 and 12. Mulayam Singh's Samajwadi Party squeezes in with 12 seats in UP, sharply down from 2009. The BJD, which has hinted at supporting the BJP, is at 13.

At 12 too is Jagan Mohan Reddy's YSR Congress and the K Chandrashekhara Rao's TRS picks up 11 in Telangana.

Lalu Yadav brings up the end of the list with 10 seats.


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