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The crucial but tiny state of Tripura, which the BJP had grabbed from the CPI(M) in a surprise win in 2018, had exit results from three pollsters which varied substantially.
IndiaToday-MyAxis indicated that the BJP would get between 36-45 seats in the 60-member assembly by garnering 45 per cent of the popular vote, most of it in the plains where Bengalis live, giving it a spectacular win.
It also predicted the Left-Congress combine would get a paltry 6-11 seats with just 32 per cent of the popular vote, a huge slide from its 43 per cent vote share in 2018. The newbie party Tipra Motha, founded by former royal Pradyot Kishore Mankiya Debbarma, is shown as gathering 9-16 seats from the tribal areas with a concentrated 20 per cent of the vote share.
However, the ETG-Times Now poll indicated that BJP would remain the largest party but with a substantial drawdown from its earlier tally of 36 to just 24 seats, while Left-Congress would get 21 seats with Tipra Motha snatching 14 seats in the tribal areas.
The ZeeNews-Matrize exit poll, on similar lines, predicted BJP and its ally would win 29-36 seats in Tripura, while the Left-Congress would get between 13-21 seats, and Tipra Motha Party would get between 11-16.
"We were confident of coming back to power at least three months before the elections. Today's exit poll shows the same thing. I appeal to all the leaders and workers of the party to maintain peace across the state," state BJP spokesperson Subrata Chakraborty told PTI.
The Left-Congress termed the exit polls "media magic", maintaining that it was confident of winning the elections.
"The expression we have seen on the people's faces in front of the polling booth -- we are sure of securing an absolute majority. I predict the BJP will not cross single digit," CPI(M) state committee member Pabitra Kar said.
Senior state Congress leader Sudip Roy Burman said, "People have voted against lawlessness in the state. It was a revenge vote against the party in power."
Former militant-turned-Tipra Motha president Bijoy Kumar Hrangkhwal told PTI before the elections that in case of a hung house, his party would consider supporting any party which conceded to or furthered its demand for a separate Tipraland state.
"In a post-poll scenario, we are willing to support from outside (in case of a hung house), but you have to agree on paper and on the floor of the House that a new state will be created," he had said.
The state recorded a voter turnout of 89.90 percent with most seats witnessing a triangular contest among the BJP, Left-Congress alliance and the Tipra Motha.
The TMC was also in the fray but failed to make much of an impact, according to the exit polls.