The Bharatiya Janata Party, the ruling party at the Centre, appeared headed for a historic win in Assam to form its first ever government in the North-East, while the Left Democratic Front was all set to return to power in Kerala, with the Congress ending up on the losing side in both states.

My life is dedicated to people of Tamil Nadu: Jayalalithaa
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ruling party at the Centre, appeared headed for a historic win in Assam to form its first ever government in the North-East, while the Left Democratic Front (LDF) was all set to return to power in Kerala, with the Congress ending up on the losing side in both states.
In Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister J Jayalalitha proved exit polls wrong as she headed for a rare second consecutive term in offie while her West Bengal Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) was also poised for another term with a huge win as the counting of votes in the Assembly elections to the four states and the Union Territory of Puducherry was underway today.
In Assam, the BJP was set for a huge win, dislodging the 15-year-old Congress regime headed by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.
In Kerala, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government headed by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy appeared to be on its way out as the Left Democratic Front (LDF) built up a huge lead.
As early counting trends came in, Ms. Jayalalithaa's ruling AIADMK was ahead in 131 of the 232 seats where polling was held, while the DMK led by veteran M. Karunananidhi, was leading in 90, its ally Congress in 8 and others in three constituencies.
In West Bengal, the TMC was leading in 212 of the 294 constituencies, while the Congress was ahead in 45, the CPM in 24, the CPI in 1, the RSP in 3, the Forward Bloc in 2 and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in 3. The BJP was leading in 3 seats.
In Assam, the BJP was ahead in 61 of the 126 seats, while the Congress was a distant second with leads in 26. The All India United Demcratic Front (AIUDF) was ahead in 12 seats, while the Asom Gana Parishad was leading in 14 the Bodoland People's Front in 12.
In Kerala, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) was leading in 91 of the 140 seats, while the Congress-led UDF was ahead in 47, while the BJP was ahead in one seat.
In Puducherry, the Congress was ahead in 15 of the 30 seats and its ally, the DMK, in two and the combine was all set to wrest power form the ruling All India NR Congress, which was ahead in eight seats. The AIADMK was leading in four.
Polling was held in the four states and one UT between April 4 and May 16. Counting of votes began at 8 am today and all the results are expected by this evening.
Assam went to the polls in two phases on April 4 and 11, while West Bengal saw polling in six phases between April 4 and May 5. Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry had single-phase polling on May 16.
In Tamil Nadu, polling in two constituencies -- Aravakurichi and Thanjavur -- was deferred by the Election Commision to May 23 and, accordingly, the votes cast there would be counted on May 25.
The term of the legislative assembly of Tamil Nadu is due to expire on May 22, West Bengal on May 29, Kerala on May 31, Puducherry on June 2 and Assam on June 5.
Votes are also being counted today in the bye-elections held on May 16 to fill one vacancy in the Lok Sabha -- Tura in Meghalaya -- and six in legislative assemblies in four states -- Jharkhand, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana.
The assembly constituencies where bye-elections were held are Godda and Panki in Jharkhand, Talala in Gujarat, Jangipur and Bilari in Uttar Pradesh, and Palair in Telangana.
The Election Commission has deferred the bye-elections in Ghoradongri (Madhya Pradesh), Anantnag (Jammu & Kashmir) and Kanubari (Arunachal Pradesh).
The bye-election in Tura (ST) was necessitated by the death of former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno A. Sangma on March 4 in New Delhi.
In Assam, the votes are being counted at 51 counting centres across the state amidst tight security. There are 1064 candidates in the fray, including Mr. Gogoi, who is seeking a fourth consecutive term as Chief Minister, the BJP's chief ministerial candidate Sarbananda Sonowal and AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal. The state had witnessed 84.72 percent polling.
In West Bengal, where Ms. Banerjee is seeking a second term, the polling turnout was around 80 percent.
The Election Commission has set up 80 counting centres for the counting of votes in the elections to the 140-member state assembly in Kerala. The state had registered more than 77 percent polling. There are 1203 candidates in the fray, including Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, whose Congress-led UDF government is looking for a second consecutive term.
In Tamil Nadu, the counting of votes is being held at 68 centres across the state in the elections to the 234-member assembly. Polling was held on May 16 for 232 seats. The polling percentage was 73.76 percent.
In Puducherry, about 82 percent of the electorate had exercised their franchise on May 16. There were 344 candidates, including 21 women, in the fray for the 30 seats.
NNN