Exit polls are not final decision, but... says Nitin Gadkari

A day after Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu mocked the exit polls saying 'they were not exact polls', Union Minister Nitin Gadkari also expressed similar opinion and said they are not the 'final decision'. However, the Union Minister emphasized that they indicate that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will once again come to power, riding on the development work done by the NDA government.        

"Exit polls are not the final decision, but are indications. But, by and large, what comes out in the exit polls also reflects in the results," Gadkari said while speaking at the launch of a poster of 'PM Narendra Modi', a biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which is slated to release on Friday.    

Most exit polls have forecast another term for PM Modi, with some of them projecting that the BJP-led NDA would get over 300 seats to comfortably cross the majority mark of 272 in the Lok Sabha.    

Seeking to set the record straight on speculations of him being in the prime ministerial race, Gadkari asserted that the new BJP-led government will be formed under Modi's leadership.    

Asked if his name was also being considered for the PM's post, Gadkari said, "I have clarified it around 20 to 50 times. We fought the elections under the leadership of Modiji and he will certainly become the prime minister again."    

"The people of the country are once again supporting the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the work done by us in the last five years. And the exit polls are an indication," he said.    

Gadkari said the BJP will win the same number of seats in Maharashtra as in 2014 Lok Sabha elections.    

Out of the total 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state, the BJP won 23 in 2014 when it contested the polls in alliance with the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena.    

Earlier on Sunday,  Vice President Venkaiah Naidu pointed out that most of the exit polls have gone wrong since 1999. Naidu addressed an informal meeting of well-wishers, who felicitated him in Guntur.

Referring to the ongoing general elections, Naidu said every party exuded confidence (over victory).

Everyone exhibits his own confidence till the 23rd (day of counting). There will be no base for it. So we have to wait for 23rd, he remarked.