Bahujan Samaj Party would emerge on top followed by BJP relegating ruling Samajwadi Party to the third spot in Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, an NDTV exit poll said after the third phase of polling in the state.

If the swing remains the same in the next four phases, BSP would bag between 120 and 130, BJP 110-120 and SP 105-115 in the 403-member House, the projections showed.

The poll placed Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, whose party has its core support base among Muslims, in third position in areas dominated by the community.

It predicted 35 to 45 seats for Congress and 10 to 20 for other groups in case the voting swing remained the same throughout until the last phase of elections.

The exit poll put BJP at the top in the third phase in which 57 constituencies went to poll, predicting 20 to 24 seats for the saffron party, 15 to 19 seats for BSP, 10 to 14 for SP and its allies and 4 to 8 for the Congress.

The saffron party won the maximum 27.6 per cent of the vote share followed by BSP (24.5 per cent), SP (23.5 per cent), Congress (15.1 per cent) and others (9.3 per cent), the poll showed.

An exit poll by Star News predicted 138 seats for the BSP, 107 for the BJP and its allies, 93 for the SP, 27 for the Congress and 38 for others.

Its projections from today's polling in 57 constituencies gave the BJP the maximum number of 20 seats followed by 17 for the BSP, 12 for the SP, and four for the Congress and as many for others.

An India TV-C Voter exit poll showed the SP securing 23 to 27 seats, the BJP 13 to 17, the BSP 11 to 15 and the Congress two to six seats from today's voting.

It said the BJP was gaining largely because of polarisation and because of the Kalyan Singh factor influencing disadvantaged sections.