Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies are likely to come back to power for a second consecutive term, according to four exit polls. Republic TV-C Voter exit poll projected the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance as to get 287 seats against the Congress-led UPA’s 128 and other parties’ 127 in the 542-member Lok Sabha. The majority mark is 272 seats.
The NDTV exit poll says the NDA will get 306 seats while Congress-led UPA 124 and others 112. Republic TV- Jan Ki Baat exit polls give NDA 305 seats, UPA 124 and others 113 while Times Now TV-VMR predicts 306 seats for NDA, 142 for UPA and 94 for others. According to the News Nation channel exit polls, the NDA is expected to get 282-290 seats, UPA 118-126 and others 130-138.
The exit polls were telecast soon after the seventh and final phase of polling in 59 seats on Sunday. The official results of the vote-count will be declared on May 23. Exit polls in India have in the past often gone off the mark. In the previous national elections in 2014, BJP-led NDA had won more than 300 seats with the BJP alone winning 282, a clear majority for a single party in the last three decades.
According to AC Nielsen-ABP exit poll, the seat-share projection for Uttar Pradesh, the most important battleground in the elections, the BJP would get 22 of the total of 80 seats, the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party alliance 56 and the Congress two. However, the Times Now-VMR exit poll gives a totally opposite picture for UP: BJP 56, SP-BSP alliance 20, the Congress 2 and others: 2
According to NDTV exit poll, BJP will get 44 seats in this year’s election, a fall from 72 last time, and the BSP-SP alliance 36. It says that BJP is expected to secure 14 of the 42 seats in West Bengal and Trinamool Congress is likely to get 24. In 2014, the BJP had just two seats in Bengal. The exit polls are based on responses of the people who have cast their votes. Pollsters assume that voters have correctly revealed their choice after coming out of polling booths.
India TV exit poll predicts BJP to win all the seven parliamentary seats in Delhi, repeating its feat in the previous feat in the 2014 national polls. The aggregate of the four exit polls reveals that the BJP will sweep almost all the 65 parliamentary seats in the three big heartland states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh where the saffron party had lost to the Congress in assembly elections just six months ago.
