The Congress on Tuesday was set to return to power in Chhattisgarh, was ahead of the BJP in Rajasthan and locked in a neck-and-neck fight in Madhya Pradesh but it was mauled in Telangana and Mizoram in critical Assembly elections held ahead of next year's Lok Sabha battle.

Exit polls held at the end of staggered voting were proved right in Chhattisgarh, where the Congress, despite not having an alliance with the Janta Congress Chhattisgarh-BSP combine was set to win handsomely, ending 15 years of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rule.