JERUSALEM, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Israel's Kadima party would win 29 to 32 seats in Israeli Knesset (Parliament) elections on Tuesday, emerging as the biggest party, three TV exit polls said.

    The exit poll results, conducted by three main TV stations, projected that the Kadima party led by Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert would win from 29 to 32 seats in the next 120-member Knesset, while center-left Labor would have 20-22 seats and the right-wing Likud 11-12.

    Israeli Channel One TV Station said that Kadima wins 29 seats, while Channel 2 and Channel 10 put Kadima at 32 and 31 seats respectively, according to the exit polls.

    The polls, which were released after the day-long voting ended at 10 p.m.(2000 GMT), said that the Russian immigrant-dominated Yisrael Beiteinu party was about to win 12-14 seats, which was the largest surprise of the night, and the Pensioners party was seen to win 6 to 8 seats.

    Kadima's win in Tuesday's election was no surprise since it has been the frontrunner in the election campaign and leading in previous polls.

    However, Kadima's falling short of winning a majority makes it have to form a coalition government, probably with the Labor party,which came in a strong second.

    Shortly after the exit poll showed that Kadima won the election, Kadima lawmakers hailed their party leader Olmert as the next prime minister.

    "Kadima has won today. The next prime minister is Ehud Olmert,"said Roni Bar-On, a Kadima legislator, who followed Ariel Sharonto quit the Likud and join the new party.

    "In any final outcome, this is a victory for Kadima," said another former Likud member, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz." Kadima will form the government. The intention is to fulfill all of our commitments to the voters," Mofaz said.

    However, Dan Yatom of Labor, said the results of the exit poll showed a defeat for Kadima and a victory for Labor."

    According to these exit polls, this is a severe defeat for Kadima. This is a big achievement for the Labor party," said Yatom. Previous polls said that Kadima could win about 36 seats to 45 seats in this election, while Labor could only get 18 seats at most.

    Israel's right-wing Likud party chief Benjamin Netanyahu conceded defeat in Tuesday's parliamentary election shortly after the exit poll results were released.

    "Although the actual results have yet to arrive, we have no doubt that the Likud has sustained a heavy blow," Netanyahu told party activists in Tel Aviv.

    In a direct swipe at Sharon, Netanyahu said the party had already been hard hit when "the former head of the party left it, and left us a broken, shattered movement."

    Netanyahu said he would stay on as party chairman. "We intend to continue along the path we have only just begun in order to ensure this movement is rehabilitated and takes its rightful place in the nation's leadership," he told reporters.

    About 5 million people out of Israel's nearly 7 million population are eligible to vote in Tuesday's election. The turnout was said to be the lowest at 63.2 percent in the country's election history, the central electoral commission said right after the poll closed Tuesday night.

    An unofficial result of the election is expected on Wednesday. According the Israel's election law, Olmert will be authorized to form the next government after his Kadima won the general election. Enditem