Two hours into counting in Assam, the early trends from the initial round of counting seems to indicate a wide lead for the BJP, which is eyeing its third consecutive win in the state.

With early trends in for 109 out the 126 seats in the state, the BJP has taken leads in 68, and its allies the Bodoland People’s Front and the Asom Gana Parishad in 8 and 7 respectively. These early leads have been established in some of the most closely watched contests of this election: Dispur, where recent Congress turncoat Pradyut Bordoloi has been fielded by the BJP; Central Guwahati, where the opposition Assam Jatiya Parishad’s young candidate Kunki Chowdhury had become the target of sustained attack by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and where the BJP’s Vijay Kumar Gupta has taken an early lead; Sibsagar, where the BJP has fielded former ULFA leader Kushal Dowari against the Raijor Dal’s Akhil Gogoi, the incumbent from the seat; and Haflong, where the BJP fielded a fresh candidate Rupali Langthasa in place of incumbent minister Nandita Gorlosa, who subsequently joined the Congress and is now contesting as the party’s candidate.

The Congress has established early leads in only 20 seats. Significantly, the only Upper Assam seat in which it has established an early lead so far in is its traditional stronghold Titabor, which was former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi’s constituency. The party has been working hard to reverse its fortunes in Upper Assam, from where it has nearly been wiped out in representation in the assembly over the last few years.

As things stand at 10 am, even the party’s state president Gaurav Gogoi, who is making his debut in state assembly polls, that too as the party’s unofficial Chief Ministerial face, is trailing from the Jorhat constituency, behind the incumbent BJP MLA Hitendra Nath Goswami. Leader of the Opposition in the Assam assembly Debabrata Saikia is also trailing from his Nazira constituency after the first round of counting.

The early trends might also be a source of worry for the AIUDF, which has only established leads in two seats, one of which is the Binnakandi seat from which party supremo Badruddin Ajmal is contesting.

Currently, the BJP-led alliance has 74 seats in the assembly, the Congress alliance 28, and the AIUDF 15.