As the early trends projected an advantage for the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagam, its ecstatic workers began flocking the party headquarters and supremo Jayalalithaa's residence in the city, gearing up for celebrations.
Even before the trends started coming, eager party workers were seen glued to their smart phones viewing the counting progress online near the Poes Garden residence of Jayalalithaa.
By 10 am, while the official trends put the AIADMK ahead in 94 seats with Dravida Munetra Kazhagam leading in 53 constituencies, several Tamil TV channels based on inputs from all the 32 districts gave the ruling party lead in 116 plus seats.
Encouraged by the trends, jubilant party workers were seen making preparations for celebrations.
AIADMK headquarters is also seeing a steady stream of party workers. Waving party flags they too are getting ready to celebrate.
Once the results are out giving AIADMK a clear win, Jayalalithaa is expected come out of her house and greet them, like she did in 2011 when the party wrested power from the DMK.
West Bengal
With Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee constructing another sweep, with her Trinamool Congress ahead in 200 of the state’s 294 seats, enthusiastic supporters gathered outside her Kalighat residence on Thursday morning to celebrate her premature win.
Slogan like ‘Thanda thanda cool, cool; ghore ghore Trinamool’ was heard outside Banerjee’s residence as hundreds of TMC supporters thronged the Chief Minister’s residence at Harish Chatterjee Street in Kalighat.
Elections in the state were held in six-phases beginning from April 4 with 1,961 candidates including 198 women in the fray.
In the two parts of first phase elections, the voter turnout was 84.22 per cent and over 83 percent respectively.
In the second phase, 79.70 per cent people exercised their right to vote.
Assam
The National Democratic Alliance continued to march ahead in Assam, leading in 83 of the total 126 Assembly seats, where counting is underway.
While the BJP is leading in 55, its ally AGP is ahead in 15 and Bodoland Peoples Party in 12.
The Congress, which was seeking to be returned for the fourth straight term, is leading in 27. BJP chief ministerial candidate Sarbananda Sonowal and outgoing chief minister Tarun Gogoi are both leading in Majuli and Titabar Assembly constituencies.
All India United Democratic Front leader Badruddin Ajmal is trailing in his South Salmara seat. Independents are ahead in six and Communist Party of India-Marxist in one seat.
Congress dissident leader Himanta Biswa Sarma, who had joined BJP is leading in Jalukbari. But another prominent BJP candidate Pawan Singh Ghatowar, a former Union minister, is trailing in Moran.
AGP leader Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, former two-time chief minister, is leading in Baharampur while his party's working president Atul Bora is ahead at Bokakhat.
Congress candidate and minister of the outgoing cabinet Rakibul Hussain is trailing at Samaguri as is also Ajanta Neog, also a minister, at Golaghat.
