Assam appears to be heading for a hung Assembly with the incumbent Congress likely to emerge as the single largest party.
At the end of the second and final phase of polling, an exit poll commissioned by CNN-IBN and The Hindu showed the ruling Congress surging ahead with 52 to 60 seats in the 126-member Assembly.
The exit poll predicted 25 to 31 seats for the Asom Gana Parishad and its allies, including the Left.
The BJP is likely to get 10 to 15 seats and others 28 to 35 seats, according to the poll, conducted by Prof. Yogendra Yadav of the Centre for Study of Developing Societies.
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Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, however, exuded confidence and said the Congress would have 'no problem' in forming the government. "We will get support from others," he said. The Congress had won 71 seats in 2001.
The exit poll showed the Congress polling 31 per cent votes as against 40 per cent in the last election.
The AGP-led alliance is likely to get 22 per cent votes and the BJP 11 per cent.
The other parties and independents are the biggest gainers, with 36 per cent votes, six per cent more than the last election.
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What seems to have done the Congress in is a significant shift in Muslim votes.
According to the exit poll, the Congress could secure just 38 per cent Muslim votes, a drop of 21 per cent.
The confusion over the IMDT Act appears to have cost the party dear on this front.
Former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, who had created history by becoming the youngest chief minister in 1985, appears to be the biggest loser.
In response to queries about the most popular leader, only four per cent people voted for Mahanta as against 31 per cent for Brindaban Goswami of the AGP and 33 per cent for Tarun Gogoi.
The BJP managed a gain of two per cent in the number of votes polled but its chances of any significant gains were washed away due to the absence of any tie up with the Mahanta faction of the AGP.
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