New Delhi: December/ 18/2012

Himachal Pradesh appears poise for a photo-finish, though exit polls give the Congress a marginal edge. This is a state with small population and the margin of error of these polls of +3% can significantly alter the projections.

 All possibilities are still open - neck-to-neck; BJP scraping through a win and Congress sweeping the state.

 Since Congress is in the opposition, it is likely that they possess the edge as the BJP should be experiencing some degree of anti-incumbency.

 Our forecast would be BJP 40%; Congress 44% Others 16% giving the Congress a facile win in the state

The result of exit polls from Himachal Pradesh are expected to come as a relief for the Congress amid their predictions that Gujarat will again go the BJP way with a third consecutive win for Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

According to an exit poll conducted by C-Voter, the Congress will get 30 to 38 seats in Himachal Pradesh while the ruling BJP will win 27 to 35 seats.

A party needs 35 seats to form the government in the 68-member Himachal Pradesh assembly. The elections were held in the state on November 4. Results for both Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh will be out on December 20.

The C-Voter exit poll said that the Congress is expected to get 44 percent votes, a five percent gain for the party from the last elections in 2007. It said the BJP is also poised to get 44 percent votes, almost the same as it got in the last elections.

The CNN-IBN-The Week post-poll survey showed the two parties locked in an intense fight with both expected to win between 29 and 35 seats each in Himachal Pradesh. Others, including independents and smaller parties, are expected to win between two to six seats. It said the Congress is set to get 41 percent votes while the BJP will get 40 percent.

The survey said price rise was the main concern of voters.

News 24-Today's Chanakya exit poll predicted a clear victory for the Congress in the hill state. It said the party will win 40 seats (plus or minus seven) while the BJP will be reduced to 23 seats (plus or minus seven). The survey said other parties will five seats (plus or minus three seats).