New Delhi: Goa might be heading for another hung assembly, much like the cliffhanger of 2017, an aggregate of nine exit polls have predicted. Data indicates both BJP and the Congress will end up with 16 seats each in the 40-member house. The kingmaker will be Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, which is contesting in the coastal state for the first time in an attempt to build a pan-India image. Poll of exit polls indicates the Trinamool might win three seats, which will enable it to hold all the cards.
India News and India TV -Ground Zero Research have both predicted that the Trinamool may win three to five seats. India TV-Ground Zero Research has also predicted a victory for the Congress with 20-25 seats.
A poll by India TV-CNX showed the BJP getting 16-22 seats to the Congress's 11-17. ETG Research shows the BJP winning 17-20 seats, while the Congress is getting 15-17. Republic-TV shows both BJP and Congress getting 13-17.
Exit polls do not always get it right. The final results will be revealed only on March 10, when counting of votes take place.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant expressed confidence that the BJP will form the next government in Goa. "The BJP will get 18-22 seats in Goa and will form the government," he said. "As per the exit polls also, the BJP will return to power in UP, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur and will have good performance in Punjab," he added.
In 2017, the BJP had managed to form the government in the coastal state with the help of local parties and Independents, despite the Congress getting the largest number of seats.
This time, the Congress -- determined to avoid resignations and crossovers by its leaders -- has dispatched its top leaders in all five states.
No one, however, has predicted any seats for Arvind Kejriwals' Aam Aadmi Party, which has conducted a big bang campaign in Goa, promising Delhi-style populist governance. AAP, which already rules Delhi, however, is set to win Punjab, its first major state, predict exit polls.