While counting of elections is still not over, but the Bharatiya Janata Party has clearly swept three heartland states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan in a dominant electoral show, stunning the Congress which drew consolation from a big win in Telangana.
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who appeared to have been sidelined in the run-up to the assembly election, emerged as the showstopper as BJP comfortably beat anti-incumbency factor to post a giant win. The party is currently leading in 163 seats in the 230-member assembly, well past the majority mark of 116. The Congress is at a distant second, leading in 65 seats.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who is leading in his stronghold of Budhni by a staggering 51,000 votes, congratulated BJP workers in advance as the party put up a strong show in early leads. The four-time Chief Minister credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the party's performance.
"Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji is in the hearts of the people of Madhya Pradesh. The state is also in the heart of Modi ji. There is immense faith towards him. He held public meetings here and appealed to people which touched people's hearts," Chouhan said.
Chhattisgarh
Meanwhile, the BJP looks to register a strong victory in Chhattisgarh, dethroning the Congress, in what initially seemed a neck-to-neck contest. The party is leading in 56 seats, while crossing the majority mark of 46. The Congress, meanwhile, is ahead in 32 seats. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, who initially trailed, is now leading in Patan constituency against his nephew and BJP candidate Vijay Baghel.
Rajasthan
Anti-incumbency helped the BJP in Rajasthan, albeit at the Congress's expense as the party is on course to wrest the state from its rival in line with the 'revolving power door' trend. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and party colleague Sachin Pilot's rivalry seems to have added to the Congress's problems.
The BJP is currently leading in 116 seats while the Congress is ahead in 69 constituencies.
The southern state became the Congress's consolation prize as the party was on its way to register a clear win against the BRS. Congress currently leads in 64 seats, while the BRS is leading in 40 seats.
K Chandrashekhar Rao, whose ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi was denied a hat-trick by the Congress, is also trailing from one of the seats he's contesting.
Chief Minister KCR is leading in Gajwel seat by 11,714 votes, but trailing in Kamareddy by 3,335 votes. Congress leader Revanth Reddy is ahead in Kamareddy and is being projected as the Congress CM face.
Meanwhile, Mizoram, which also went to polls in this election cycle, will have its results tomorrow. The Election Commission pushed counting in Mizoram by a day, respecting the Christian-majority state's observance of Sunday.