Live: Losers & Winners in High-Stakes Assembly Polls 2017

Stay tuned here for all the key highlights from the five states!

• Counting of votes begins at 8 am on Saturday in 157 centres across the five states
  
• Stakes in Uttar Pradesh are high not only for the BJP, but also for the SP-Congress alliance
• The Congress is also eyeing power in Punjab and Goa, and hopes to retain Uttarakhand and Manipur
• The AAP is hoping to form governments in Goa and Punjab – which would mark its first electoral success outside Delhi
  

The stage is set for counting of votes on Saturday to wrap up a staggered poll process in five states – the biggest electoral contest ahead of the 2019 general elections – in what is largely seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation move.

According to the Election Commission of India, the early trends will start pouring in from 8 am for all the five states – Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa – where thousands of central forces have been deployed at vote counting centres.

Here’s a quick recap of how each of the five states performed in the exit polls on Thursday.

Exit polls by most news channel on Thursday had predicted a hung assembly in the key Hindi heartland state of Uttar Pradesh where BJP would emerge as the single largest party, winning anywhere between 164 and 210 of the 403 seats.

The saffron party, though likely to lead the table in Goa, was projected to fall short of a majority in the coastal state.