Congress leader and Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar asserted on Monday that the opposition coalition, the INDIA bloc, will form the government at the Centre, dismissing the exit poll results. When questioned about the exit poll findings, DK Shivakumar stated, “I don’t believe (exit poll findings),” and added, “INDIA will form the government.”
The exit polls on June 1 forecasted a landslide victory for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the Lok Sabha elections. Earlier in the day, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also dismissed the exit poll predictions as a “media creation” and expressed confidence that the INDIA bloc would surpass the 295-seat mark in the Lok Sabha elections.
“We are not going to agree with the exit poll. Exit polls are a media creation. In the Centre, our President has made it very clear that the INDIA alliance will win 295 seats,” Siddaramaiah told ANI on Monday.
The exit polls indicated that the ruling BJP-led NDA is likely to improve its performance compared to its 2019 record when it secured 352 seats. Two polls suggested that the BJP would increase its numbers from the 303 seats won in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
According to the India Today-Axis My India exit poll, the NDA is predicted to win 361-401 seats in the Lok Sabha elections, while the INDIA bloc is expected to secure 131-166 seats, with 8 to 20 seats going to other parties. The Republic PMarq exit poll forecasted 359 out of 543 seats for the NDA, 154 for the INDIA bloc, and 30 for others. The Republic Matrize poll projected 353-368 seats for the NDA, 118-113 for the INDIA bloc, and 43-48 for others. The NewsX Dynamics poll predicted 371 seats for the NDA, 125 for the INDIA bloc, and 47 for others.
The Lok Sabha elections were conducted in seven phases starting from April 19, with the counting of votes scheduled for June 4.