Italy's centre-left led by Pier Luigi Bersani was poised to win the general election, according to exit polls on Monday, with a large lead over Silvio Berlusconi's party.

The centre-left is set to snap up to 34.5 percent of the vote, with 29 percent going to the centre-right, according to a poll by SKY TG 24 television, and around 20 percent to the protest Five Star Movement (M5S).