Exit polls at the end of the fifth and final round of the Lok Sabha elections on Wednesday projected a fractured verdict on May 16 when counting takes place with most polls showing the Congress-led UPA and the BJP-led NDA running neck and neck,the UPA slightly ahead. The Third Front looked set to corner nearly one-fifth of the total 543 seats and could be key to government formation. An estimated 62% of the electorate voted in the final round while the overall turnout in the five phases was 60%. The exit polls,which were way off the mark in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls when most projected an NDA win,were unanimous on a few counts this time: •A rout for Lalu Prasad Yadav and Ram Vilas Paswan. •No sweep by Mayawati in UP,no rout for the DMK in Tamil Nadu. •Gujarat,Bihar,Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh would power the NDA tally. •The Third Front,including BSP and AIADMK,was expected to cross the 100-mark. On Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh,which together account for 81 seats,there was no unanimity. Differing from polls suggesting massive gains for the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu and the TDP-TRS in Andhra Pradesh,NDTV and Star News placed the UPA ahead in the two states. NDTV said UPA looked set to retain all 29 seats in Andhra while Star News projected 24 seats for UPA. •The overall projection by Star News gave 199 seats to UPA (Congress 155),196 to NDA (BJP 153),100 to Third Front and 36 to Others. •The CNN-IBN estimated 185-205 for UPA,165-185 for NDA,110-130 for Third Front,25-35 for Fourth Front. n The NDTV exit poll for 196 seats in six states Andhra Pradesh,Karnataka,Tamil Nadu,Gujarat,Bihar and Orissa gave 77 to UPA,72 to NDA,39 to Third Front,6 to Fourth Front,2 to Others. •The Headlines Today gave Congress and allies 191 seats,180 to BJP and allies,38 to Left parties,134 to Others,including BSP. •India TV said the UPA could get 195 seats and go up to 227 if 32 seats of RJD,LJP and SP are added. It gave NDA 189 and the Third Front 113 seats. Others were projected to get 14 seats. •The NewsX projected 202 seats for UPA,193 for NDA,101 for Third Front,46 for Others. It said the Congress alone is expected to get 155 seats and the BJP two less. •The UTVi channel gave UPA 195 and said it would reach 227 with SP,LJP and RJD. It projected 189 for the NDA and 14 for Others. •The News 24 gave projections made by political parties. In the Congress projection,UPA gets 218 as against 194 of NDA,101 for Third Front and 30 for Fourth Front. The channel quoted BJP exit polls giving UPA 170 as against NDAs 215.
