Exit Poll Results: Narendra Modi Projected To Return As PM; NDA Headed For Landslide Victory

everal exit polls, released after the seventh phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Sunday, predicted a landslide victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), with some projecting over 300 seats for the coalition.

If the exit polls are proven correct on May 23 when the Election Commission of India (ECI) declares the results, the BJP could become the first party to form two successive governments with a majority on its own. 

A party or alliance needs at least 272 seats to form the government at the centre.

Here is the final set of numbers that TV channels and poll agencies predicted for the NDA, UPA and others: 

8:38 PM:  The India Today-Axis My India exit poll findings say that the BJP, with a vote share of 48%, could win 62-68 seats. The SP-BSP alliance is projected to win 10-16 seats. 

The India Today-Axis My India exit poll findings predict the BJP-led NDA will win 339-365 seats.

8:25 PM: The Narendra Modi government is predicted to come back to power with a clear majority, according to the News18-IPSOS Exit Poll, with the NDA forecast to get 336 seats. 

8:19 PM: The India Today-Axis My India exit poll findings say that the BJP-led NDA will win 12-14 seats and the Congress stands a chance in only two seats. 

8:16 PM: National Conference supremo Omar Abdullah has tweeted, saying every exit poll can't be wrong after almost all poll findings suggest that the BJP-led NDA will return to power with a thumping victory.

8:12 PM: According to India Today-Axis My India exit poll results, the BJP-JD(U) coalition is projected to win 38-40 seats. The Congress-RJD alliance may well end up drawing a blank in the state.

8:00 PM: West Bengal is projected to witness a turnaround with the BJP projected to make firm inroads into the state with a tally of close to 20 seats. The ruling TMC is expected to win 19-22 seats, according to India Today-Axis My India exit polls.  

7:54 PM:  West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has tweeted, saying she doesn't believe in exit poll gossip.  

7:42 PM: The India Today-Axis My India exit poll findings say that the BJP and National Conference are neck-and-neck with 2-3 seats. The Congress could win 1. 

In Uttarakhand, the findings suggest the BJP will win all 5 seats. Congress is expected to draw a blank there.  

7:40 PM: TMC may win 28 seats in West Bengal, NDA is likely to win 11 parliamentary seats, UPA 2 and one may go to one of the other parties, according to Times Now Poll of Polls Survey.

7:30 PM: According to India Today-Axis My India exit poll findings, the BJP is projected to win the lone Chandigarh seat. In Haryana, BJP is expected to win 8-10 seats. The Congress stands a chance only in 0-2 seats.

7:26 PM: According to India Today-Axis My India exit poll findings, the BJP is projected to win 6-7 seats in New Delhi. In Punjab, the Congress is expected to win 8-9 seats, followed by the BJP-SAD coalition which is expected to win 3-5.

The Times Now-VMR exit poll predicts that the Mahagathbandhan may not have been able to work its magic in Uttar Pradesh. The findings say the BJP+ will get 58 seats, followed by SP-BSP with 20 seats, and Congress 2 seats.

7:17 PM: According to India Today-Axis My India exit poll findings, the BJP is projected to win Chhattisgarh with a tally of 7-8 seats. The Congress, which trounced the BJP in the recently held assembly elections, is projected to get 3-4 seats.  

7:12 PM: The ABP News-Nielsen exit poll has predicted BJP to win 22 of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh where the SP-BSP and RLD contested in the alliance.

7:10 PM: According to India Today-Axis My India exit poll findings, the BJP is once again expected to sweep the state with 23- 25 seats. The Congress could win 0-2 seats. 

7:08 PM:  According to India Today-Axis My India exit poll findings, the BJP is projected to win 26 of the 29 seats. The ruling party had won 26 seats in 2014 too.

7:05 PM:  According to India Today-Axis My India Exit Poll findings, the state of Gujarat will see a repeat of 2014 as the BJP is expected to win on almost all the 26 seats. The Congress stands a chance only on a single seat.

7:02 PM:  According to India Today-Axis My India Exit Poll findings, the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in Maharashtra will sweep the state with 38-42 seats. The Congress-NCP coalition will get 6-10 seats.

6:57 PM: According to India Today-Axis My India Exit Poll findings on 131 of the 542 seats, the UPA is currently leading with the possibility of getting 55-63 seats, followed by the NDA which currently stands at 23-33 seats. The others' seat count stands at 35-46.

6:55 PM: NewsX-Neta Exit Poll findings say that the BJP-led NDA will get 242 seats, followed by the Congress-led UPA which is predicted to get 164 seats. 

6:52 PM:  Republic C-Voter has predicted that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will form the government with a comfortable majority of 287 seats. The UPA is expected to be a distant second with a tally of 128 seats, followed by others who are expected to get 127 seats.

6:47 PM: India Today-Axis My India exit poll findings say TRS will get 10-12 in Telangana, Congress 1-3 and AIMIM may win the lone Hyderabad seat from where Asaduddin Owaisi contested. The BJP could get 1-3 seats in the state. 

Congress is expected to win the lone Lok Sabha seat in Puducherry.  

6:45 PM: India Today-Axis My India exit poll findings suggest that Congress-led United Democratic Front will sweep the state with 14-16 seats, followed by Left Democratic Alliance with 3-5. The BJP will be a distant third with 0-1 seat.

6:41 PM: India Today-Axis My India exit poll findings suggest that the BJP, along with its allies, is expected to get 21-26 seats followed by the Congress-JDS alliance, 3-6 seats.

6:39 PM: In Tamil Nadu, the DMK-Congress alliance is expected to sweep the state with 34-38 seats, followed by AIADMK with 0-4. 

6:36 PM: According to India-Today Axis My India exit poll findings, Jaganmohan Redyy-led YSRCP is expected to get 18-20 seats, followed by TDP with 4-6 seats in Andhra Pradesh. 

6:33 PM: The India Today-Axis My India exit poll findings will be released shortly. 

6:11 PM: Even as TV channels and poll agencies get ready to release exit poll numbers and make predictions, Congress President Rahul Gandhi once again questioned the credibility of the Election Commission of India, saying the institution capitulated before Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

5:30 PM: In the country's history of exit polls, 1996 is considered a landmark year when public broadcaster Doordarshan tasked the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) to conduct exit polls formally. Due to the lack of clear majority and frequent disagreements over the consensus candidates for the post prime minister, India was also going to witness successive elections till 1999.

5:26 PM: The Election Commission will give the go-ahead to the exit polls at the end of the last phase of polling held in 59 parliamentary constituencies—including Modi’s seat Varanasi—spread across eight states. Though voting officially ends at 5 pm, it can be extended at some booths for a variety of reasons.

4:50 PM: The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was widely predicted to win the 2014 general elections after a series of scams battered the UPA's prospects. Additionally, a strong candidate for the post of prime minister in the form of Narendra Modi, who popularised the "sabka sath, sabka vikas" slogan, propelled the BJP to power on its own.