State Election 2023 Results Today: After months of campaigning and a contest that saw candidates and top party leaders sweat it out to woo voters for an opportunity to govern and rule, the day of reckoning has finally arrived. The much-anticipated results of the Assembly Elections held in Telangana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are set to be declared today with the counting of votes set to begin at 8 AM sharp on Sunday, December 3. While the results of the Mizoram Assembly Election 2023 were earlier scheduled to be declared along with the other states, the Election Commission of India deferred it by a day following representations from various quarters.

The anticipation is high as the exit polls, which usually offer an indication of which way the results may go, have proven to be inconclusive. The exit polls results, declared after the polling concluded in Telangana — the last state to go to polls — on November 30, have thrown up mixed results in most states, especially in the Hindi-heartland states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

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Most exit poll surveys have projected a close battle in MP with a slight advantage for the Congress. However, Axis My India and Today’s Chanakya have projected a landslide win for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Similarly in Rajasthan, most pollsters have predicted a clear win for the BJP while India Today-Axis My India and News 24-Today’s Chanakya have given the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government an edge in the state. Congress also appears to have an edge over its opponents — the BJP and Bharat Rashtra Samiti — in Chhattisgarh and Telangana, respectively. However, pollsters are divided on the margin and have projected a close contest.

The results, at the moment, are too close to call. And this perhaps could be the reason for the sleepless nights that many candidates and their party bosses have had over the past three days. On the national level too, there is much riding on these elections. The BJP, which refused to project any chief ministerial candidate, is banking purely on the charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to do the magic for it.

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While the policy may have worked earlier, there have been occasions one too many in the recent past where it backfired. The defeats in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka are fresh in people’s minds and adverse outcomes in the Hindi heartland could further dampen the prospects for the BJP in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections three months from now.

The states are equally high for the Congress which has stitched together an alliance of 26 Opposition parties with hopes to defeat the BJP in the general elections next year. The party, which swept the heartland states, but lost power in MP following a rebellion by Jyotiraditya Scindia, needs to carry the momentum of its Karnataka win in these elections to make an impact in the Lok Sabha polls. It is also crucial that the Congress does well if it wants a greater say within the Opposition alliance on sticky issues like leadership and seat-sharing.

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The counting of votes in four states will begin at 8 AM today across polling centres in Telangana, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. The first trends are expected only after 8.30 AM when the counting of EVM votes begins. The final results are expected to be declared by the Election Commission of India by late evening.