The "Exit Poll" analysis and forecasts are based on combining two separate survey methodologies: i) Polling Booth surveys ii) Post Poll Household surveys.1.a sample size 63740 voters - involves randomly selecting polling booths across the country and as voters emerge from these polling booths a randomised selection of voters are questioned on which party they voted for.2.a sample size of 91712 voters.The fieldwork and the tabulation for the Polling Booth Exit Polls and the Post Poll Exit Polls was carried out by Hansa Research.The detailed methodology is set out below:Overview: Exit Polls were conducted at polling booths on election days. Voters were interviewed as they came out of polling booths. Interviewers were asked to interview every fifth voter and ask him to indicate the candidate/party for which he had voted.The Exit Polls covered 265 constituencies across 19 major states. The proportion of constituencies covered was higher in states where major political changes had happened. Nearly all Parliamentary constituencies were covered in states like AP / Telengana, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Delhi. Parliamentary Constituencies chosen for the Exit Polls were representative of the socio-political regions within the state.In each Parliamentary Constituency (PC), 3 Assembly Constituencies (ACs) were randomly selected. Thus, a total of 795 ACs were sampled across the country. 3150 Polling Booths were randomly selected from these ACs for the purposes of the Exit Poll.A total of 63740 interviews were conducted for the Exit Poll.Each booth was covered for one hour by two interviewers. They then moved to another booth. All interviews were conducted using tablet computers, where the respondents chose the candidate and party symbol displayed on the screen, without exposing their choice to the interviewers.All data was weighted to reflect the constituency profile on gender and religion/caste.Post Polls were conducted with voters randomly selected from the electoral rolls after the elections. The interviews were conducted 1 - 8 days after they had voted: The Post Polls covered 330 constituencies across 19 major states. As with the Exit Polls, the proportion of constituencies covered was higher in states where major political changes had happened. Nearly all Parliamentary constituencies were covered in states like AP / Telengana, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Delhi. Parliamentary Constituencies chosen for the Post Polls were representative of the socio-political zones within the state.In each Parliamentary Constituency (PC) 3 Assembly Constituencies (ACs) were randomly selected. Thus a total of 990 ACs were sampled across the country. 3224 Polling Booths were randomly selected from these ACs for the purposes of the Post Poll.A total of approx. 92,000 interviews are being conducted for the Post Poll.Voters were randomly selected from the voters' lists of the selected boothsAll interviews were conducted in homes using tablet computers, where the respondents chose the candidate and party symbol displayed on the screen, without exposing their choice to the interviewers.All data was weighted to reflect the constituency profile on gender and religion/caste.

Pre Election Polls Sample Size (in 2 phases): 90,339

Pre Election update Polls sample Size: 14722

Pre Election Telephonic Re-contact Sample Size : 18324 over the duration of polling

Post Election Exit Polls Sample Size: 63740

Post Election Post Poll: 91712

Total Interviews over the polling schedule: 278837

For the first time, a large number of female interviewers were used - to get better responses from women - especially among sensitive ethnic / religious communities and rural regions

Computer Aided Personal Interviews conducted with GPRS enabled tablets to ensure the strict norms of quality control.