The world’s largest democratic exercise will wrap up today with the seventh and final phase of voting, which includes the high-profile constituency of Varanasi, represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As this extensive electoral process comes to an end, exit polls will start being released this evening.
**Congress Boycotts Exit Poll Debates**
Amid the intense anticipation surrounding the 2024 Lok Sabha exit polls, the Congress party has announced that it will not participate in any exit poll debates on television news channels. The party criticized these debates as “speculation and a slugfest for TRP,” pointing out the often unreliable nature of exit poll predictions in India.
**Historical Inaccuracy of Exit Polls**
Congress’s skepticism stems from the inconsistent accuracy of exit polls in past elections. Here’s a look at the previous two general elections:
**Lok Sabha Elections 2019**
In 2019, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured a decisive second term, winning 353 out of 543 seats, with the BJP alone securing 303 seats. The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) managed only 93 seats. The exit polls varied in their predictions:
– **India Today-Axis:** NDA 339-365, UPA 77-108
– **News 24-Today’s Chanakya:** NDA 350, UPA 95
– **Times Now-VMR:** NDA 306, UPA 132
– **News18-Ipsos:** NDA 336, UPA 82
– **CVoter:** NDA 287, UPA 128
– **India News-Polstrat:** NDA 287, UPA 128
The actual results were NDA 353 and UPA 93.
**Lok Sabha Elections 2014**
In 2014, the BJP-led NDA ousted the Congress-led UPA with a landslide victory, winning 336 seats, while the UPA secured only 60 seats. The exit poll predictions were as follows:
– **India Today-Cicero:** NDA 272, UPA 115
– **News24-Chanakya:** NDA 340, UPA 70
– **Times Now-ORG:** NDA 249, UPA 148
– **CNN IBN-CSDS-Lokniti:** NDA 276, UPA 97
– **India TV-CVoter:** NDA 289, UPA 101
– **NDTV-Hansa Research:** NDA 279, UPA 103
The actual results were NDA 336 and UPA 60.
Despite the historical inaccuracies of exit polls, political analysts and the public will be eagerly awaiting the exit poll results that will begin to emerge soon after the voting ends this evening. The final results of the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections will be announced on June 4.
