German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative coalition has lost its absolute majority in Bavaria's parliament by far, according to exit polls.
Exit polls conducted by ARD and ZDF show that the Christian Social Union won 35.5 percent of the vote in Sunday's state ballot, down from 47.7 percent five years ago.
This is the party's worst performance in Bavaria, traditionally a stronghold since the 1950s.
Polls also indicated that the Green Party made significant gains to secure second place with about 19 percent of the vote. It also showed that the right-wing "Alternative for Germany" party was able to enter the state parliament in Munich, capturing 11 percent of the vote.
The center-left Social Democrats, Merkel's junior partner in Berlin, are about to win 10 percent of the vote, half of what they won in 2013.
