Rahul Gandhi calls exit polls ‘Modi’s fantasy poll’
Even as all exit polls have given the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-National Democratic Alliance (NDA) a comfortable majority in the Lok Sabha election, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi claimed the INDIA group would get 295 seats. He called the 2024 exit polls “Modi media poll” and “Modiji’s fantasy poll”.
A day after the exit polls, Gandhi spoke to journalists at the sideline of an internal meeting of the Congress that was called to prepare for the counting day. “It is not exit poll, it is Modi media poll. It is Modi ji’s poll. It is his fantasy poll.” Asked about the number of seats for the INDIA alliance, Rahul Gandhi returned to the media and said, “Have you heard Sidhu Moose Wala’s song 295? 295.”
At the meeting of the INDIA allies on Saturday hours before the exit polls, the leaders arrived at a calculation that the Opposition group would get at least 295 seats. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge announced that according to the people’s exit poll, the INDIA bloc would get at least 295 seats.
Various pollsters predict a wide range of seats for the ruling NDA, with estimates ranging from 353 to 383 seats for the BJP-led alliance and 152 to 182 seats for the opposition INDIA bloc. Some polls even project over 400 seats for the NDA. If these predictions hold true, Prime Minister Narendra Modi would match Jawaharlal Nehru’s record of leading his party to victory for a third consecutive term.
Exit poll results also suggest a significant breakthrough for the BJP in southern states, including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana.