Lok Sabha elections 2019: The poll of polls is out today. Results of election will be out on May 23
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP may win almost as many seats as it did in 2014 and form a government comfortably, says the poll of polls, an aggregate of exit polls available so far.
Republic C-Voter has predicted more than 300 of 543 seats for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Times Now-VMR has also predicted that the NDA will cross 300. The poll of polls, an aggregate of exit polls so far, gives the NDA 300 and the Congress and its allies 127.
The poll of polls also predicts 44 of Uttar Pradesh’s 80 seats for the BJP. The Mayawati-Akhilesh Yadav combination is given 34 seats while the Congress is set to do no better than it did in 2014 – two seats.
The poll of polls reveals that the Congress may not reap much from its December victories in three big heartland states, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
Voting in one of India’s most acrimonious elections in decades ended on Sunday after seven rounds held over a month-and-a-half.
The results will be declared on Thursday, May 23, but before that, exit polls are attempting to predict how PM Modi’s BJP, Rahul Gandhi’s Congress, their allies and other parties are likely to score.
A health warning – exit polls often get it wrong.
In 2014, the poll of exit polls – an aggregate of various exit polls – gave the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) 288 of the 545 seats in parliament and the Congress-led UPA 102.
The results of the Lok Sabha elections will be out on May 23
The gap turned out to be far wider. The NDA won 336 seats while the UPA, which had been in power for two straight terms, was reduced to 59.
In 2009, exit polls had predicted 186 for NDA and 197 for the UPA. The NDA won much less – 160 – and the UPA ended up winning another term with 262 seats.
The seven-phase election has seen violence in every round in Bengal, with street battles between the workers of the BJP and the state’s ruling Trinamool.
Among the seats that voted today was PM Modi’s Varanasi, which he is expected to easily retain.
The BJP has campaigned aggressively on the nationalism pitch and played up the recent Balakot air strikes against Pakistan as an example of PM Modi’s strong leadership. The opposition, led by the Congress party and its leader, Rahul Gandhi, have accused him of pursuing divisive policies and neglecting the economy.
PM Modi and Rahul Gandhi have attacked each other on a near daily basis.
Pollsters say PM Modi, 68, remains personally popular but his party’s overall majority is at risk from a backlash.
The Prime Minister has held 142 rallies across India during the campaign, sometimes five a day, but pollsters say the BJP could lose dozens of the 282 seats it won in its 2014 landslide.
This time, the BJP has focused on Bengal, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh.
The Congress, on the other hand, campaigned intensely in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala.
Rahul Gandhi, 48, attacked the PM over alleged corruption in the Rafale deal and over the plight of farmers and lack of jobs.
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Get the latest election news, live updates and election schedule for Lok Sabha Elections 2019 on ndtv.com/elections. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram for updates from each of the 543 parliamentary seats for the 2019 Indian general elections. Election results will be out on May 23.