Counting of votes for the Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana, seen as the first major test of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity after the Lok Sabha polls, will be held on Sunday.

BJP is falling short in Maharashtra but it set to win the majority in Haryana anyways.

Live updates of time to time in Maharashtra and Haryana:

9:50 am After leading in as many as 141 seats, the BJP appears to be losing ground in Maharashtra. Trends at 9:50 am (288/288): BJP 121, Shiv Sena 62, Congress 45, NCP 39, MNS 3, Others 18.

9:47 am Uddhav Thackeray will decide on alliance with BJP, says Sanjay Raut of Shiv Sena

9:40 am Trends indicate that BJP is set to form the next government in Maharashtra, BJP parliamentary board will decide on the next CM, says Devendra Fadnavis

9:30 am Maharashtra trends at 9:30 am: (288/288): BJP 140, Shiv Sena 60, Congress 41, NCP 40, MNS 2, Others 5.

9:25 am BJP’s Shahnawaz Hussain says the nation has won. “It’s a victory for the policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he said.

9:20 am Among the BJP candidates who are leading in Maharashtra are Ram Kadam (Ghatkopar West), Prakash Mehta (Ghatkopar East), Pankaja Munde (Parli), Sunil Deshmukh (Amrawati), Devendra Fadnavis (Nagpur South West), Vindo Tawde (Borivali).

9:15 am Among the BJP candidates who are leading are Ram Kadam (Ghatkopar West), Prakash Mehta (Ghatkopar East), Pankaja Munde (Parli), Sunil Deshmukh (Amrawati), Devendra Fadanvis (Nagpur South West), Vindo Tawde (Borivali).

9:10 am Latest trends from Maharashtra at 9:01 am: (287/288): BJP 135, Shiv Sena 65, Congress 42, NCP 40, MNS 3, Others 2.

9:05 am Haryana (90/90): BJP 51, INLD 20, Congress 15, HJCBL 4, Others 0.

8:50 am Congress stalwarts former CM Prithviraj Chavan and Narayan Rane trailing from Karad (South) and Yevla respectively.

8:45 am India’s politics in changing; people have voted for Narendra Modi’s good governance, says Prakash Javadekar

8:41 am Haryana trends at 8:41 am (77/90): BJP 46, INLD 17, Congress 11, HJCBL 2, Others 1. Among the key candidates, Congress’ Randeep Singh Surjewala is leading from Kaithal

8:40 am Latest trends from Maharashtra at 8:40 am (152/288): BJP 75, Shiv Sena 33, Congress 23, NCP 19, MNS 0, Others 1.

8:20 am The exit polls predictions appears to be coming true with the BJP putting up a credible performance in both Maharashtra and Haryana. BJP state president Devendra Fadnavis has gained an early lead from Nagpur (south-west).

8:11 am BJP is ahead in the two seats and INLD in one seat in Haryana.

8:10 am First trends from Maharashtra (6/288): BJP 3, Shiv Sena 1, Congress 1, NCP 1.

8:05 am Votes being counted in 269 locations in Maharashtra and 57 in Haryana.

8 am: Counting of votes began for Maharashtra and Haryana assembly polls 2014 at 8 am on Sunday.

The elections are being seen as the first big test of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for India and also a sign of whether the ‘Modi wave’ is still in motion.

Maharashtra recorded 63.13 per cent polling to chose candidates for the 288-member Assembly. Haryana recorded its highest-ever turnout of 76.54 per cent. Haryana has 90 members in the Assembly.

Maharashtra Elections Counting Update and Verdict:

The five-cornered fight in Maharashtra is expected to throw up interesting results. The stakes are the highest for the Shiv Sena and the MNS as a loss may mean that they lose relevance in the land of Marathi manoos.

On the other hand, the Congress and the NCP, though fighting independently, share the same fate – if exit polls come true. The parties had shared power in alliance for 15 years and now it may be time to sit in opposition.

The BJP is smiling after the exit polls predicted a victory, at worst a near victory. The numbers game may have already started behind closed doors to ensure that Narendra Modi-powered party reaches the magic figure of 144.

Among the key candidates from the BJP are Devendra Fadnavis (Nagpur south-west), Pankaja Munde (Parli), Vinod Tawde (Borivali), Ram Kadam (Ghatkopar West).

Subhash Desai (Goregaon), Sureshkumar Jain (Jalgaon), Eknath Shinde (Kopri) of the Shiv Sena and Nitin Sardesai (Mahim), Shalini Thackeray (Dindoshi) of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) are also in the fray.

Congress stalwarts in the fray are Prithviraj Chavan (Karad South), Manikrao Thakre (Yavatmal), Suresh Shetty (Andheri East), Kripashankar Singh (Kalina), Baba Siddique (Bandra West), Pariniti (Solapur City Central) and of the NCP are Ajit Pawar (Baramati), Jayant Patil (Islampur), Anil Deshmukh (Katol), Chagan Bhujbal (Yevla) and Jitendra Ahwad (Mumbra).

Haryana elections counting and verdict:

From just four seats in the outgoing assembly to grabbing power, the exit polls have predicted a stunning victory for the BJP in Haryana.

What would make the anticipated victory sweeter is the fact that the party has contested, for the first time, without support from any state centric party.

The Om Prakash Chautala-led Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) is the other big contender for the no 1 position.

The Congress under Bhupinder Singh Hooda is hoping for a miracle given the prediction that the people of Haryana have voted for change in 2014.

Among the key candidates are Capt Abhimanyu (Narnaud), Vandana Sharma (Safidon), Bhupinder Singh Hooda (Garhi Sampla-Kiloi), Venod Sharma (Ambala City), AK Arora (Thanesar), Kuldip Sharma (Ganaur), Ajay Singh (Rewari), Dushyant Chautala (Unchana Kalan), Kuldeep Bishnoi, and Chander Mohan.

Watch live updates streaming below: