As soon as the Exit Poll predictions were aired by several TV channels, reactions from various political leaders started pouring in. While BJP leaders were overwhelmed with the Exit Poll predictions, some leaders from Opposition parties called it unreliable and claimed that original results will be completely different. Let's look at how political leaders from different parties reacted to the Exit Poll predictions:
"With so much experience, even if I go around Punjab to gauge the voter swing, I would not be able to do it with complete accuracy. So how can these exit polls be accurate," said Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh. "I am confident that the Congress would do much better in these Lok Sabha elections. Even in Punjab, I am the party to get more than the 9 or 10 seats," he added.
Meanwhile, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwala did not personally reacted to the Exit Poll predicts aired by TV channels today. However, taking to Twitter the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener retweeted the post of West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee who has criticised the Exit Poll results saying that she does not believe in Exit Poll gossips.
Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu Sunday mocked at the exit polls, saying they were not exact polls. "Exit polls do not mean exact polls. We have to understand that. Since 1999, most of the exit polls have gone wrong," the Vice-President pointed out.
The exit poll predicted that the Bahujan Samaj Party-Samajwadi Party-Rashtriya Lok Dal’s Mahagathbandhan will emerge as the third largest force in the 17th Lok Sabha with 56 seats. Despite mega efforts, the BJP has failed to open accounts in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. It has however, become the largest party in Karnataka where it is projected to win 15 seats.
The saffron party is tipped to win 19 seats in Rajasthan, a state where Congress wrested control in the assembly elections. Congress is likely to win six seats here. In the case of Madhya Pradesh, BJP is likely to win 22 seats while Congress may get seven seats. In Punjab, BJP+ is tipped to win five seats while Congress may get eight seats. AAP draws nil here.
BJP is pegged to do tremendously well in Odisha with nine seats. It had won only one in 2014. BJD is likely to win 12 of the 21 seats available here. The BJP-Shiv Sena combine, which had won 43 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra in 2014, is expected to win 34 Lok Sabha seats now. Congress-led UPA alliance is likely to win 14 seats in the state.
A neck-and-neck battle is projected between BJP and Congress in Chhattisgarh. The BJP, however, holds the edge here with six seats while the Congress may get the rest five. The BJP was routed in the 2018 assembly election.
Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress may suffer heavy losses in the West Bengal, according to the ABP News-Nielsen forecast. It may get 24 seats. It had won 34 in 2014 polls. Massive gains are projected for the BJP here with 16 seats. Left may not open account.
In Bihar, the exit poll has predicted an overwhelming majority for the NDA. The NDA is likely to register a victory on 34 Lok Sabha seats. Congress+ may just manage to get the remaining six seats.