lok-sabha-elections

Updated: May 21, 2019 09:56 IST

Congress general secretary for east Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has urged party workers to keep their morale high and not get disheartened by “rumours” and exit polls after they predicted a massive victory for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the Lok Sabha election.

In an audio message to party workers on Monday, Priyanka Gandhi also asked them to stay alert and cautious and exuded confidence that the hard work put in by the Congress leaders and cadre would bear fruit.

“These rumours and exit polls are a ploy to break your confidence. It is all the more important that you stay alert and maintain a constant vigil at strong rooms and counting centres. We are sure our and your hard work will bear fruit,” she said.

Most exit polls have predicted a majority for the BJP-led NDA, leaving the UPA far behind. Eight separate exit polls have predicted that Narendra Modi was best positioned to return as India’s Prime Minister.

They, however, differed on the numbers, and the range hovered from a high of 316 for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to a low of 202. For the Congress, the numbers ranged from a low of 46 seats to a high of 107.

Exit polls have had a history of being inaccurate in terms of exact seat predictions and have gone wide off the mark in the past.

The exit poll outcomes brought cheer to the BJP camp as the ruling party’s leaders claimed it was a vindication of PM Modi’s popularity. The BJP won 282 seats in the Lok Sabha in 2014, becoming the first party in three decades to clinch a majority on its own.

The Congress did not buy the exit poll numbers, pointing to the fact that they have gone wrong in the past. Regional leaders also expressed their apprehension about the poll numbers.

Exclusive | ‘We don’t believe in exit poll predictions, they’re not accurate’: Sitaram Yechury

“I don’t trust Exit Poll gossip. The game plan is to manipulate or replace thousands of EVMs [electronic voting machines] through this gossip. I appeal to all Opposition parties to be united, strong and bold. We will fight this battle together,” West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee tweeted.

Most polls, which predict a comfortable majority for the NDA, have assumed an outright sweep for the BJP in most of the northern, central and western states where the party did well in 2014.