Counting
In picture: Election officials prepare to count votes. [Representational image]IANS File Photo

Counting for the elections to the Assemblies of Manipur, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Goa is currently underway. The Election Commission (EC) has made several security arrangements to ensure that the counting takes place without any obstacle.

Here are the live updates:

7:47 pm IST: Congress has also won the Manipur elections with 28 seats in the Assembly but has failed to reach the halfway mark of 31 in the 60-seat Assembly. The BJP put up a fabulous performance having given a neck-neck fight to Congress. The BJP won 21 seats in the Assembly. 

7:41 pm IST: The Congress sweeps the polls in Punjab with a 77-seat win. The SAD-BJP alliance failed to impress having won only 18 seats in the elections. However, AAP put up an impressive performance with a 20-seat win. 

7:40 pm IST: Congress wins in Goa with 17 seats in the Assembly. BJP came a close second with 13 seats. however, no party has been able to cross the halfway mark of 21 seats.

7:06 pm IST: EC replies to BSP's letter allegeing manipulation of EVMs. It said that no merit was found in the allegations and that the prayers made in the letter are not legally tenable

6:20 pm IST: "Election results have established PM Modi as the most dominant person with a country-wide appeal," Congress leader P Chidambaram was quoted by NDTV as saying.

5:54 pm IST: Goa CM Laxmikant Parsekar has also resigned from his post

5:47 pm IST: UP CM Akhilesh Yadav resigns from his post. He has submitted his resignation to Governor Ram Naik.

5 pm IST: UP CM Akhilesh yadav addresses the media after crushing defeat in assembly polls.

4:57 pm IST: Irom Sharmila decides to quit politics after defeat in Manipur assembly elections saying that the "people didn't support me."

4:46 pm IST: BJP sweeps Uttar Pradesh assembly elections with a 234-seat win, according to the EC. The party is still leading on 75 seats. Samajwadi party-Congress allliance has been decimated in this election. Even the BSP couldn't manage to get too many votes.

4:45 pm IST: BJP wins in Uttarakhand with 47 seats. The Congress has won only 11 seats. The BJP will form government in the state.

4:35 pm IST: BSP's Mukhtar Ansari wins from Mau in uttar Pradesh with 97199 votes

4:34 pm IST: "One is BJP and we've been against them. The other is Congress that has setting with BJP. Will think on alliance partner," Vijay Sardesia of the Goa Forward Party told ANI

4:33 pm IST: Swati Singh, wife of expelled BJP leader Dayashankar Singh, wins from Sarojini Nagar seat in UP. Says that she is indebted to the people for the mandate.

4:25 pm IST: Uttarakhand BJP president Ajay Bhatt loses to Congress' Karan Mahara by 4981 votes from Ranikhet assembly constituency

4:14 pm IST: "Gratitude to the people of India for the continued faith, support and affection for the BJP. This is very humbling & overwhelming... Am overjoyed that BJP has received unprecedented support from all sections of society. Huge support from the youth is gladdening. I salute the hardwork of BJP Karyakartas. They have tirelessly worked hard at the grassroots level & won the confidence of the people. Congratulations to Amit Shah, party office bearers & state units for their exemplary work in taking the party to new heights. Every moment of our time, everything we do is for welfare & wellbeing of the people of India. We believe in the power of 125 crore Indians," PM Modi wrote in a series of tweets.

4:03 pm IST: "If Prajapati does not surrender, we will take action," says Amit Shah on rape-acused minister Gayatri Prajapati who has been on the run since an arrest warrant was issued against him for raping a woman in Uttar Pradesh along with six other men.

4 pm IST: "No regret on Punjab, we accept the defeat," says Amit Shah

3:50 pm IST: "BJP government will launch a new era of development in Uttar Pradesh... Move past Hindu-Muslim. A voter is a voter; politics of development should take place," Shah said adding that the chief ministers of the respective states will be decided in a meeting of the party's top leaders at 6 pm on Sunday. PM Modi will also be present in the meeting.

3:45 pm IST: The BJP and the Congress have won 12 and 13 seats respectively in Goa. In Manipur, BJP has won 17 seats while the Congress has won 18. In Uttarakhand, BJP has won 28 seats and the Congress has won seven seats. The BJP has won 142 seats in Uttar Pradesh while the SP-Congress has won 26 seats and the BSP only six seats. In Punjab, the Congress has won 66 seats followed by AAP with 20 seats and BJP with three seats.

3:40 pm IST: "Today, everybody has to admit, that PM Narendra Modi is the most popular leader since independence," Amit Shah in Delhi.

3:37 pm IST: "BJP has got nearly 3/4th majority in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand - possibly the largest since independence," says Amit Shah, adding that the Centre's demonetisation, jan dhan and other schemes worked in favour of the party.

3:33 pm IST: BJP President Amit Shah addresses the media at party headquarters in Delhi. He says: "In four states we are about to form government. We thank the people of the states from the heart. It is a historic mandate and will give a new direction to the country's politics." He added that the results are very encouraging for the party.

3:32 pm IST: Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat resigns from the post.

3:05 pm IST: Both the BJP and the Congress have won 12 seats each in Goa.

3 pm IST: 

2:23 pm IST: Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks to Congress's Amarinder Singh to congratulate him on his victory in Punjab

2:15 pm IST: The Congress has won 42 seats in Punjab followed by AAP with 16 seats and the SAD-BJP with seven seats. 

2:02 pm IST: "I thank the people of Jaswant Nagar for my victory. Rest we accept people's mandate," says Shivpal Yadav to ANI after his win 

1:52 pm IST: The Congress has won 12 seats while the BJP has won 10 seats in Manipur

1:50 pm IST: The BJP has won 15 seats in Uttar Pradesh while the SP-Congress alliance has won only two seats.

1:47 pm IST: The BJP has won five seats in Uttarakhand and is leading in 52 seats while the Congress has won two seats.

1:45 pm IST: The Congress has won 27 seats while the BJP-SAD has won two seats in Punjab and the Aam Aadmi Party 12 seats

1:40 pm IST: "Either the EVMs did not accept votes other than BJP, or the votes of other parties have gone to BJP in the EVMs. Most votes in Muslim majority constituencies have gone to BJP, makes it evident that voting machines were manipulated," Mayawati says at a press conference. 

1:34 pm IST: Former Goa CM Digambar Kamat of the Congress wins from Margao constituency

1:25 pm IST: Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat will resign at 3 pm, the Indian Express reported.

1:20 pm IST: Both Congress and BJP have won eight seats each in Goa while the Goa Forward Party has won three seats. 

1:02 pm IST: Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal reacts to SAD-BJP loss in the elections: "We will form a committee and discuss why we lost this election."

12:48 pm IST: In Manipur, the Congress is leading with a win in eight seats followed by the BJP, which has won three seats.

12:45 pm IST:

12:42 pm IST: Home Minister Rajnath Singh was quoted by NDTV as saying: "This is a big victory ...BJP has changed the political picture of the country."

12:39 pm IST: UP CM Akhilesh Yadav will address the media at 5 pm.

12:31 pm IST: Captain Amarinder Singh addressed a press conference on Congress' performance in Punjab and said: "I thank the people of Punjab... From senior-most to ground-level workers, I thank everyone. Thanks goes to people of Punjab as well. I was saying this from the start, that the Punjabi voter is enlightened enough to make the right choice. Arvind Kejriwal is a summer storm - he came and he's gone."

12:29 pm IST: "Congress Legislative Party meeting has been called tomorrow (Sunday) at 2 pm," Captain Amarinder Singh of the Congress, who has won from Patiala urban seat by a margin of over 51,000 votes, told reporters at a press conference in Punjab. 

12:22 pm IST: Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat loses from Kichha seat after having lost the Haridwar Rural seat.

12:12 pm IST: The BJP is leading on 292 seats in UP followed by SP-Congress in 70 seats and BSP in 18 seats.

12:08 pm IST: When asked whether Rahul Gandhi should step down following the election results in Uttar Pradesh, Digvijaya Singh of the Congress was quoted by NDTV as saying: "I have always been of the opinion that Congress has to build up regional leadership. We have to take decisive action as to what we should we be doing to build up the Congress in states where we don't have leaders. The Nehru-Gandhi family is the biggest binding factor for the Congress. That's why the leadership has to come from Rahul Gandhi. It is not true that Congress doesn't encourage young leadership. Rajiv Gandhi picked me to head a state when I was 31.

He added: "PM Modi and Amit Shah have very aggressively pushed the line of elections on totally communal grounds. They talk of development but their foot soldiers work only on Hindus and Muslims."

12:04 pm IST:

12:02 pm IST: Navjot Singh Sidhu of the Congress addresses the media in Amritsar. "This is the revival of the Congress, it is just the beginning. Congress will spread from here," Sidhu says.

12 noon IST: Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan told ANI: "It is PM Modi's magic. He rules the hearts of the citizens."

11:57 am IST: Congress wins four seats in Manipur. It is leading in nine seats.

11:53 am: Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat loses from Haridwar rural seat

11:47 am: 

11:44 am: Former Goa CM and Congress leader Pratap Singh Rane wins from Poriem constituency, ANI reported.

11:40 am: BJP wins three seats in Goa while Congress wins two, according to figures on EC's website. The BJP has also won two seats in Manipur while the Congress has won three seats.

11:36 am:

11:27 am IST: BJP wins Mapusa and Maem constituencies in Goa.

11:25 am: Trends change in Manipur with Congress leading in 10 seats again followed by BJP in seven seats. Both parties have won two seats each in the state. 

11:18 am: Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar officially loses the election by a margin of almost 4000 votes.

11:10 am IST: Samajwadi Party accepts defeat. Party spokesperson Ghanshyam Tiwari issued a statement saying:

"The Samajwadi Party wholeheartedly accepts the verdict of the people of Uttar Pradesh. I congratulate BJP for winning the vote of the people. We are proud of the positive and development based campaign we have run. We stand confidently for the leadership of Shri Akhilesh Yadav ji. The people of Uttar Pradesh hold him in high esteem. Under his leadership, the party will continue to work to make Uttar Pradesh a frontier state in development and harmony. We also thank the Election Commission for holding peaceful elections. We thank the media for playing an active role in the democratic process. Best wishes."

11:05 am IST: The BJP has won two seats in Goa while the Congress has won one seat and is still leading in 7 seats.

11 am IST: The BJP has won two seats — Konthoujam and Uripuk — in Manipur but the Congress is still leading on 11 seats.

10:58 am IST: "At this rate we might as well forget 2019 & start planning/hoping for 2024. Punjab, Goa & Manipur would certainly suggest that the BJP isn't unbeatable but strategy needs to shift from criticism to positive alternate... Criticising the PM will only take us so far. The voter needs to know there is an option available to them that has a clear +ve road map. How the hell did almost all the experts/analysts miss this wave in UP? It's a tsunami not a ripple in a small pond," Former CM of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah said in a series of tweets.

10:43 am IST: BJP wins one seat (Konthoujam constituency) in Manipur. It is leading in nine more.

10:40 am IST: "People trust PM Modi," said Union HRD minister Prakash Javadekar.

10:36 am IST: Rajnath Singh's son Pankaj Singh leading from Noida constituency, according to CNN-News18. Akhilesh Yadav is expected to call on Governor Ram Naik at around 2 pm since SP-Congress is heading for a loss in the elections with a lead on only 75 seats while the BJP is close to the 300 mark in the 403-seat Assembly

10:30 am IST: "I had travelled across UP. I knew the verdict. The people voted for all yojanas for the BJP. Good luck to all the political pundits," BJPs' Ravi Shankar Prasad told CNN-News18

10:27 am IST: Manipur CM Okram Ibobi Singh of the Congress has won from Thoubal seat

10:25 am IST: SAD's Bikram Singh Majithia is leading from Majitha by 6549 votes

10:20 am IST: The BJP has announced a firecracker show at 10:30 am on Saturday to celebrate its early lead in Uttar Pradesh, according to the Hindustan Times. The party is ahead in over 250 seats followed by SP-Congress with 77 seats and BSP with 30 seats. The halfway mark in 403-seat assembly is 202.

10:18 am IST: The BJP is leading on 14 seats in Manipur followed by Congress on 11 seats, according to DD News.

10:15 am IST: BJP MP Yogi Adityanath told CNN-News18: "The win is a result of voters' blessing and the hard work of the BJP. The people have rejected Akhilesh Yadav."

10:12 am IST: BJP leads in 245 seats in Uttar Pradesh, according to figures mention on the EC's official website. BJP is followed by SP-Congress with 68 seats and BSP with 17 seats.

10:10 am IST: 

10:09 am IST: Irom Sharmila loses to three-time CM Okram Ibobi Singh from Thoubal constituency in Manipur

10:03 am IST: The BJP is leading on 52 seats in Uttarakhand followed by the Congress on 15 seats and other parties on three seats. The majority mark in the 70-seat Assembly is 36.

9:58 am IST: Congress's Navjot Singh Sidhu is leading from Amritsar East seat in Punjab.

9:57 am IST: Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal is leading in Jalalabad by over 2,000 votes. AAP's Bhagwant Mann is in third place.

9:52 am IST: According to TV reports, BJP's Laxmikant Parsekar, who was contesting against Congress' Dayanand Sopte, has lost from Mandrem

9:50 am IST: In Manipur, CM Ibobi Singh is leading Leithantem Singh of the BJP by 5276 votes. For the first time, the BJP is leading on 11 seats in the state while Congress is on 10 seats.

9:48 am IST: In Goa, NCP's Curchill Alemao is leading in Benaulim while AAP's Royla Fernandes is trailing by 940 votes.

9:47 am IST: In Uttarakhand, the BJP is leading in 53 seats while the Congress is leading in 13.

9:45 am IST: AAP's Gurpreet Singh Ghughi is leading from Batala in Punjab

9:42 am IST: "We will make the government for sure. For Akhilesh, its lost game," BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj told CNN-News18

9:39 am IST: The Congress is leading on 51 seats in Punjab followed by BJP-SAD with 27 seats, AAP with 24 seats and other parties with one seat.

9:38 am IST: The Congress is leading on six seats in Goa followed by the BJP on four and others on two seats.

9:32 am IST: Shivpal Yadav is leading from Jaswant Nagar seat in Uttar Pradesh.

9:21 am IST: According to media reports, BJP has crossed halfway mark in Uttar Pradesh and is four seats short of reaching the halfway mark in Uttarakhand.

9:20 am IST: The Congress is leading on 33 seats, the AAP on 14 and the SAD-BJP on 11 seats in Punjab. The majority mark in the 117-seat Assembly is 59.

9:17 am IST: Chief Minister Harish Rawat leading from Haridwar Rural seat in Uttarakhand. According to latest trends, Congress is leading on 14 seats, BJP on 13 seats and other parties on two seats

9:16 am IST: Goa CM Laxmikant Parsekar is trailing by 1000 plus votes, while the Congress is leading from Mandrem

9:06 am IST: Congress is leading on three seats in Goa while the MGP-Shiv Sena-GSM alliance is leading on one seat

9:05 am IST: The Congress is leading on 15 seats in Punjab while the AAP i on eight seats and the SAD-BJP alliance is on six seats.

9 am IST: Congress and BJP leading on 10 seats each in Uttarakhand

8:59 am IST: Captain Amarinder Singh leading by 3500 votes from Patiala seat

8:55 am IST: The Congress is leading on five seats in Manipur followed by the BJP on two seats and other parties also on two seats. 

8:54 am IST: The BJP is leading on 91 seats in UP followed by SP-Congress on 19 and BSP on 17 seats.

8:53 am IST: In Uttar Pradesh, Azam Khan (from Rampur) and rape-accused Gayatri Prajapati (from Amethi) are leading while Aparna Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav's daughter-in-law, is trailing from Lucknow Cantonment seat. Azam Khan's son Abdullah is also trailing from Swar in Rampur

8:50 am IST: In Punjab, SAD is leading on three seats, while Congress and AAP are leading on five seats each

8:48 am IST: In Uttarakhand, Congress is leading on three seats while the BJP is leading on two.

8:46 am IST: In Manipur, the Congress is leading on two seats followed by the BJP on one and other parties on two. In 2012, the Congress had won 42 seats, the Trinamool Congress had won seven while other parties had won six seats.

8:43 am IST: In Punjab, AAP is leading on two seats while Congress is leading on one seat.

8:42 am IST: BJP leads in UP with 47 votes followed by SP-Congress with 15 votes, BSP with 9 and other parties with 4 votes. 

8:41 am IST: Harish Rawat is confident of returning to power in Uttarakhand. He told ETV: "I am hopeful the Congress will get 45+ seats in the state."

8:40 am IST: BJP leads in UP with 32 votes followed by SP-Congress with 13 votes and BSP with 7. The BJP is leading on five seats in Lucknow, ANI reported.

8:35 am IST: Shivpal Yadav is confident of a big win but is careful with his response and says: "Let us wait for the counting results."

8:34 am IST: BJP leads in UP with 23 votes followed by SP and BSP.

8:33 am IST: In Punjab, SAD's Parkash Singh Badal is leading from Lambi followed by Captain Amarinder Singh and AAP's Jarnail Singh 

8:30 am IST: The BJP is currently leading with 15 votes each followed by BSP and SP-Congress with 13 votes each, according to DD News.

8:22 am IST: Congress leader Pradeep Jain reaches out to the BSP saying that a grand alliance will be formed in Uttar Pradesh "if need be", CNN-News18 reports. Earlier, UP CM Akhilesh Yadav, in response to BBC Hindi, had not ruled out a possible alliance with BSP if the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance failed to win the elections.

8:19 am IST: According to ANI, Mayawati-led BSP is leading from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh.

8:18 am IST:

8:15 am IST: Samajwadi Party's UP chief Naresh Uttam seems confident of party's win. He told CNN-News18: "The SP will form the government. Modi ji will get a befitting reply. Our priority is to stop the communal forces and we will be successful in doing so."

8:06 am IST:

8 am IST: Counting in all five states — Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Goa, Uttarakhand and Punjab — begins

7:53 am IST: Goa CM Laxmikant Parsekar has said that he is ready to work under Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar if he returns to the state as the chief minister. He added that he was confident of a BJP win in the state.

7:41 am IST: BJP leader Vijay Bahadur Pathak was quoted by News18 as saying that his party will security majority. "You may say there are not apparent preparations for celebrations, but we are prepared for victory and celebrations. You will see it as the results come."

7:33 am IST: 

7:14 am IST: "I do not feel much affected by the result. It depends upon the people's mindset. I don't feel much affected by it, because people can still change their minds and everybody knows muscle and money power is being openly used by parties," Irom Sharmila told ANI. She added that if she loses, she will try again in the national elections in 2019.

7:09 am IST: Less than an hour to go for the counting to begin. Tight security arrangements have been made in all the five states. The EC has prohibited the use of cell phones at all counting centres.

7:05 am IST:

6 am IST: Polling has been mostly peaceful in most of the five states. Each state had its own issues on which the elections were fought, the biggest one being demonetisation. If we were to go by the prediction of the exit polls, then it looks like the public wants the BJP to win.

5 am IST: Another three hours to go before counting starts. About time we begin pondering how much of a liability Rahul Gandhi is, and for whom.

4 am IST: The BJP is expected to win in Uttar Pradesh, and just about make it in Uttarakhand and Goa. Counting starts at 8 am.

The poll panel will show the election trends and results in real-time on its official website. It will also run an interactive dashboard, besides providing visualised data in various formats on Sunday, March 12.

The BJP seems to be winning in UP, and some exit polls have gone so far as to predict that the party will get a clear majority in the state. The contest is fierce in Goa, with the Congress or the BJP almost ready to win. Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat wishes to return to power but the exit polls have predicted that the BJP is likely to return to power in the state.

Manipur is also likely to witness a win by either the Congress or the BJP. However, Irom Sharmila's People's Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA) contested the elections for the first time in Manipur. It will be interesting to see how it has fared in the elections. 

As far as Punjab is concerned, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which has ruled in the state in alliance with the BJP over the past five years, is expected to see a huge setback, with the Congress likely to return to power. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is also expected to win several seats.

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