Exit poll results suggest setback for NDA in south India, regional parties to do well

New Delhi, May 20: If exit polls are to be believed, not only was there a Modi wave in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, but this wave was bigger than the 'TsuNamo' of 2014. However, the south Indian states appear to have halted the juggernaut of the saffron once again.

In Karnataka the BJP could get 21 to 25 of the 28 seats, with the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) combine, could end up getting only 3 to 6 seats. This is a big markup for the BJP in the state when compared with 2014.

In Tamil Nadu, the BJP hoped to make inroads by allying with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).

Some exit polls predict the newly formed BJP-AIADMK alliance in Tamil Nadu, where the saffron party had won just one seat in 2014, will win a substantial number of seats.

The ruling Left Democratic Front seems to be in for a drubbing in Kerala.

The Congress-led United Democratic Front is predicted to win 15-16 of 20 Lok Sabha seats in the state while the CPM led LDF is expected to get only 3-5 seats, according to the India Today-Axis My India survey. The exit poll by Today's Chanakya predicts 16 + 3 seats for the UDF, 4 +3 seats for LDF, while the BJP is expected to open its account in the state with one seat.

The India Today-Axis My India survey for Andhra Pradesh gives 18-20 seats to the YSR Congress led by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy with a vote share of 45 per cent. However, Today's Chanakya survey predicts a win for Chandrababu Naidu's TDP with 17 +3 seats.

The TRS led by K Chandrashekar Rao is predicted to do well in Telangana. India Today-Axis My India survey gives 10-12 of 17 seats to the ruling party. The BJP and the Congress are expected to win 1-3 Lok Sabha seats in the state each, while AIMIM of Asaduddin Owaisi is predicted to win one. The Today's Chanakya survey predicts 14 + 2 seats for TRS, while 1 + 1 seats for the Congress and the BJP.

South India is represented by 130 seats in the Lok Sabha, forming around one-fourth of the total 545 seats up for grabs. The BJP battles the image of being a north Indian party with little connection to southern issues.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Narendra Modi-led Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) won 205 seats out of its total of 282 from India's northern and western states. However, despite the "Modi wave" that swept the country, the BJP was able to win only 21 seats in the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka, of which 17 came from Karnataka alone