New Delhi [India], May 3 : Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha on Sunday dismissed exit poll predictions indicating Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) performance across Assam and West Bengal, saying that one must wait for the actual election results instead of relying on projections.
Jha also questioned the sample size and methodology of exit polls, asking how many voters polling agencies can realistically interact with in what he described as an "intense political climate."
"You can look at the history of exit polls... How many voters can you interact with that, too, in such an intense political climate... So, we should all wait for tomorrow... Counting should be done right after voting by deciding the timeline," he said.
Earlier in the day, Congress MP Manickam Tagore also rejected recent exit poll projections favouring the BJP in Assam and West Bengal, calling exit polls "commercialised" and urging people to wait for the final results.
Speaking to ANI, Tagore said that at present the exit polls are "commercialised" but praised the voter turnout in Tamil Nadu. He said that the increased voter turnout reflects the hope of a greater impact in India's democracy.
"Exit polls are polls that have now been commercialised. Therefore, I don't believe in the exit polls... We should wait for the verdict of the people, and the people have given the verdict. It's time that we wait and know the results in 24 hours. In Tamil Nadu, turnout has increased. We hope that the youngsters... The way the youth and women have spoken, there is a hope that democracy in the country will have a greater impact. I hope that it will all help in the continued progress of Tamil Nadu," said Tagore.
Exit polls projected that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is poised to retain power for a third successive term. Axis My India projected that the BJP-led NDA would secure 88 to 100 of 126 seats and the Congress-led alliance 24 to 36 seats.
JVC predicted 88-101 seats for the NDA and 23-33 seats for the Congress-led alliance. It gave 0-2 seats to AIUDF and three to others. Matrize projected 85-95 seats for the BJP-led alliance, 25-32 for the Congress-led alliance, and 6-12 seats for others.
In Tamil Nadu, several pollsters, including People Pulse, Matrize, and P-MARQ, have projected a comfortable majority for the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) in the 234-member Assembly. Most exit polls estimate the alliance securing between 120 and 145 seats, while the AIADMK-led NDA is projected to trail with 60 to 100 seats.
Meanwhile, according to an exit poll by Chanakya Strategies, it has projected 150-160 Assembly seats in the BJP's corner while placing Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) with 130-140 seats of the total 294 Assembly seats in the state.
Other parties are projected to win six to 10 Assembly seats in West Bengal as per Chanakya Strategies.
According to exit poll projections by Matrize, the BJP is winning the West Bengal Assembly polls with 146-161, while TMC is projected to win 125 to 140 seats.
As per Matrize too, other parties are being projected to win six to 10 Assembly seats in West Bengal. The exit poll by Poll Diary has projected 142 to 171 Assembly seats in the BJP's corner, while placing Mamata Banerjee's party with 99 to 127 seats in West Bengal. Meanwhile, other political parties are projected to win five to nine Assembly seats.
Results for West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Keralam, Assam and Puducherry elections will take place on May 4.
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