Haryana Elections: Congress Gaining From JJP, BJP's Vote Share Intact, Says Pradeep Gupta

The Congress' projected victory in the Haryana Assembly elections is coming on the back of a major shift of votes from regional heavyweight Jannayak Janta Party to the grand old party, according to pollster Pradeep Gupta.

The Dushyant Chautala-led JJP's vote share is projected to be "decimated," from nearly 15% in 2019 to 1-2% this time, Gupta, chairman and managing director of Axis My India, told NDTV Profit. The majority of its votes have likely shifted to Congress, he said.

The agency's exit polls predict that the Congress will increase its vote share by 15 percentage points, securing 43% and winning 53-65 seats in the 90-member Haryana Legislative Assembly. The JJP is expected to draw blank, compared to 10 seats five years ago.

Notably, the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party will manage to keep its vote share largely intact even as it stares at a possible rout in the elections, Gupta said.

"In 2014, the BJP came to power with 33% vote share and 47 seats, whereas in 2019, vote share increased to 36.8% even as the number of seats declined to 40. This time, the party will poll 35% of the vote while seats are reducing drastically," Gupta said.

Axis My exit polls for India show the BJP securing 18-28 seats.