Counting of votes to begin at 8 am; country waiting to know results

NEW DELHI: The counting of votes for the by-elections to Wayanad Lok Sabha, Palakkad and Chelakkara assembly seats in Kerala and assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand will begin at 8 am today. The counting of votes will also take place for the by-elections held in 48 assembly constituencies in other states and the Nanded Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra.

The results will start to come out within an hour of the counting of votes. By noon the result will be known. NDA is leading in most of the exit polls in the 288-member Maharashtra and 81-member Jharkhand legislative assemblies. In Maharashtra, the fight is between the BJP-led Mahayuti Front (NDA) and the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (India). The BJP-led NDA is trying to capture power by ousting the JMM-led 'India' front government in the elections to the 81-member Assembly in Jharkhand.