Rajasthan Elections 2018: CVoter exit poll (6 PM data) predicts Congress to sweep Rajasthan; BJP to hold second position

Republic TV on Friday announced the result of the CVoter exit polls for the state of Rajasthan, where elections were held earlier in the day.

As per the CVoter exit poll (till 6 PM on Friday), Congress is projected to come out victorious on the counting day(December 11) by winning seat share between 129-145 out of the 200 seats in the 2018 assembly elections in Rajasthan, ruling out the incumbent BJP led Vasundhara Raje government.

BJP, however, is predicted to secure second position with 52 to 68 seat share.

The 2018 Rajasthan assembly elections saw the BJP coming into direct competition with the Congress, with Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Aam Aadmi Party also contesting. On one hand, while the BJP is attempting to retain power in the state, the Congress is confident that it'll be able to succeed Vasundhara Raje as Chief Minister.

Both Congress and BJP campaigned heavily in the lead up to the elections, with senior leaders from both parties camping in the state for a number of days. For the Congress, Rahul Gandhi addressed numerous rallies along with Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot, while for the BJP, PM Narendra Modi, party president Amit Shah and others also addressing numerous rallies.

The issues addressed in the elections were numerous, with the BJP attempting to stave off any anti-incumbency by claiming that the Raje government had fulfilled a vast majority of its promises from the last elections and also attacking the Congress over UPA-era scams, notably in light of AgustaWestland middleman Christian Michel being extradited to India, while the Congress claimed that the Raje government had failed on multiple counts, notably in the case of farmers and in providing jobs to the youth. Sachin Pilot who is one of the leaders in the fray to be Chief Minister if the Congress wins, has alleged that the BJP is trying to distract from core issues by bringing in topics like the Ayodhya Ram Mandir and such, while the BJP has called the Congress a confused party because of its unwillingness to name a CM candidate amid alleged infighting between Gehlot and Pilot.

The BJP rose to power in Rajasthan in 2013 Assembly polls by winning a massive 163 seats out of 200, while the Congress could manage to only 23 seats. Vasundhara Raje sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan for the second time, succeeding Congress' veteran leader Ashok Gehlot who was Rajasthan's CM between 2008-2013 after the Congress had won the previous assembly elections in the state. 

With the assembly elections, the final countdown to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections has begun. The results of the assembly polls in all five states, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Mizoram and Chhattisgarh will profoundly determine the national mood. 

Results for all 5 states will be declared on December 11.

READ: Assembly Elections 2018: Poll Of Exit Polls For Rajasthan, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh And Mizoram - LIVE UPDATES