Jan Ki Baat exit poll for Lucknow, U.P: Rajnath Singh projected defeat SP-BSP candidate Poonam Sinha and Congress' Acharya Pramod Krishnam

As the polling in the all-important 2019 Lok Sabha polls - the largest exercise in democratic franchise anywhere in the world - has officially come to an end, the countdown for the deciding-day - May 23  has begun, when the results of the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections will finally be declared. While India is on the threshold of welcoming a new government, Jan Ki Baat presents a constituency-wise analysis.

An estimated 900 million citizens voted in thousands of polling booths in every corner of the country in the 39 days-long voting process. Vote-counting will be held for 542 seats in the Lower House of India's Parliament (Vellore in Tamil Nadu stands countermanded) and the country awaits with the crucial numbers regarding the composition of the 17th Lok Sabha.

While the exact numbers will be declared on May 23, Jan Ki Baat presents a projection of how the seat-shares and vote-shares could turn out for key constituencies of the states based on ground reporting of Pradeep Bhandari. The projections are made after conducting extensive on-ground surveys all across the country following each of the seven phases of the 2019 polls.

Contest in Lucknow:

Just a day after joining the Samajwadi party, SP BSP nominated Shatrughan Sinha's wife Poonam Sinha from the seat. She is pitted against Union Minister Rajnath Singh of BJP. Congress at the other hand has fielded Acharya Pramod Krishnam, who runs an ashram in Sambhal. A stronghold for BJP since 1991, Lucknow is a prestigious seat for the saffron party in 2019 polls. After former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee held the Lucknow constituency from 1991 to 2009, BJP leader Rajnath Singh contested from the seat in 2014 elections and emerged victoriously. However, in the 2014 general elections, Congress' Pramod Krishnam was the Congress's candidate from the Sambhal area where he emerged on the fifth position. Poonam Sinha is not only an outsider to the seat but also a new candidate. 

Projection by Jan Ki Baat:

Rajnath Singh is predicted to win comfortably from Lucknow. Historically this seat was a contest between Congress and the BJP. It has never been a contest between Gathbandhan and BJP. 

The Lok Sabha election stretched for more than one month saw heated campaigning from all parties. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking a second term in the office, addressed a total of 144 rallies and roadshows this election season, Congress president Rahul Gandhi addressed 125 rallies in the 2019 polls with the elections also marking the entry of his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as an official member of the Congress.

In the Lok Sabha elections 2019, there were controversies galore over the course of the polls, ranging from poll violence being witnessed in each of the 7 phases of voting in Bengal, to some shocking statements from leaders across parties, with the likes of Azam Khan, Yogi Adityanath, Maneka Gandhi and others being struck down on by the Election Commission, and others, like Sam Pitroda, Sadhvi Pragya and Kamal Haasan triggering mass outrage. 

A number of Republic Media Network newsbreaks especially set the agenda for the polls, including the first interview of the Prime Minister's election campaign to Republic's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami and his final campaign interview to Executive Editor Abhishek Kapoor. Alongside these were the sensational #MPsOnSale sting on sitting MPs who showed themselves willing to compromise the interests of those whom they claim to represent, the Operation Karz Maafi sting that exposed the falsehood in the Congress' farm loan-waiver promise, and numerous others.

The vote counting for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls will be held on May 23. Join Arnab on Republic Media Network for non-stop coverage of the sensational conclusion to the general elections here.