BJP vs Congress BATTLE: Who will win 'semi-final' polls today?

The fate of governments in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh will be known on Sunday when counting of votes takes place in the assembly elections, considered the ‘semi-finals’ before the Lok Sabha elections next year.

The counting will take place in Mizoram -- which went to polls on November 25 -- on December 9.

Voting ranged between over 65 per cent in Delhi and over 81 per cent in Mizoram. Rajasthan recorded over 74 per cent, while Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh recorded over 70 per cent.

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With Narendra Modi spearheading the Bharatiya Janata Party’s campaign after his nomination as the party's prime ministerial candidate, all eyes will be on how the party performs in the current round of elections.

On the other hand, the Congress’s performance could point to the potential of Rahul Gandhi as the party's mascot ahead of the big fight early next year.

The contest was essentially bipolar between the BJP and the Congress in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, while in Delhi it was a virtual triangular contest with new entrant Aam Aadmi Party making it difficult for the two major parties.

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Exit polls after the elections in these states have predicted a near rout for the Congress and a good showing for the BJP, which is likely to retain power in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and wrest power in Rajasthan.

Sheila Dikshit, seeking a record fourth term as Delhi chief minister, appears to be facing the toughest battle in the national capital, with the emergence of Arvind Kejriwal's AAP upsetting the calculations of both the Congress and the BJP.

Harsh Vardhan is the BJP's chief ministerial candidate.

There are 810 candidates in the fray in Delhi for 70 seats. While the Congress and the AAP are contesting from all the seats, the BJP is in the fray in 66 seats. It has given four seats to ally Shiromani Akali Dal.

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In Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chauhan is involved in a tough battle with Congress in his bid for a hat trick, pitted as he is against a young Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia for the chief minister's post.

For the 230 seats at stake, BJP has fielded its candidates in all the seats while the Congress is fighting in one less. A total of 2,583 candidates are in the fray.

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Rajasthan will witness a keen fight between the Congress, led by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, and BJP's Vasundhara Raje, with both parties facing each other in all 200 constituencies.

As many as 2,087 candidates are in the fray in the desert state.

Like his Madhya Pradesh counterpart, Raman Singh is seeking a hat trick in Chhattisgarh, where both the BJP and the Congress are fighting it out in all 90 constituencies. There are 986 candidates in all.

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In Mizoram, where coalition politics is in play, the Congress is fighting to retain power.

The Congress is contesting all the 40 seats, while the Mizo National Front which heads the opposition front is contesting 31, along with the Mizo People's Conference, which is contesting from eight seats. The Zoram Nationalist Party is contesting 38 seats.

A total of 142 candidates are in the fray for the 40-member assembly.

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