People accepted us: Congress reaction on News Nation, other exit polls

Cheered up with the exit poll predictions for the Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram, the ecstatic Congress on Friday said that the take away from the outcome of most post-poll surveys was that people have endorsed the party as an alternative and that the BJP was on backfoot. “It is very easy to see that the BJP is in back foot in all these five state assembly polls and the Congress is giving an alternative which most people are endorsing and that is the take away from these exit polls,” Congress leader Sachin Pilot, who is in the race of chief minister in Rajasthan, said.

Pilot, a former union minister, said that people were angry with the BJP over several issues such as agrarian crisis, price rise, and the economic “mess” and they accepted the Congress party’s blueprint.

“The anger was very palpable against the BJP in these elections and people were willing and happy to accept the blueprint given by the Congress. People want answers for questions which they have avoided for the last five years as price rise, farmers in distress, economy is collapsing,” he said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, believed that the happy feeling the Congress is having will not last long as exit polls have been consistently under-projecting the BJP’s tally in all elections since 2014.

“The Congress can bask in gloat on exit poll results but this happy feeling would be short-lived,” BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao said.

The exit poll conducted by News Nation predicted a clear majority for the Congress in Rajasthan and a neck and neck fight in Madhya Pradesh. The exit poll for Chhattisgarh Assembly elections suggested that the Congress may emerge as the single largest party in a hung house with Ajit Jogi playing the king maker’s role. Our survey predicted that the Congress-TDP alliance in Telangana will also put up a tough fight against the TRS, but gave a slight edge to the ruling party. Although in Mizoram, the Congress looked on the verge of losing its last northeastern state.

Madhya Pradesh Exit Poll 2018:

After 13 years in office, Bharatiya Janata Party's Shivraj Singh Chouhan is gearing up for a fourth straight term in Madhya Pradesh. According to News Nation Exit Poll, the BJP will bag 108-112 seats to retain power in the state yet again in 2018. In a neck-and-neck fight with the incumbent BJP, the Congress will get 105-109 seats.

Chhattisgarh Exit Poll 2018

BJP's Raman Singh is likely to lose Chhattisgarh this time. According to News Nation Exit Poll, the BJP is likely to get only 38 to 42 Assembly seats. The Congress is likely to emerge as the single largest party with 40 to 44 seats. Congress rebel Ajit Jogi along with Mayawati's BSP can play a role of the kingmaker. The Jogi-led JCC and BSP alliance is likely to get 4 to 8 seats in the Assembly.

Rajasthan Exit Poll 2018

Rajasthan is likely to go with its decades' old tradition of voting the incumbent out. According to the News Nation exit poll, Congress is likely to get a clear majority with 99-103 seats against the BJP’s 89-93. Vasundhara Raje-led BJP’s vote share is expected to be 39 per cent while the Congress, taking a giant leap forward, is predicted to win 44 per cent of the total vote share in the desert state.

Telangana Exit Poll 2018

K Chandrashekhar Rao-led TRS is predicted to emerge as the single largest party in India’s youngest state Telangana, according to News Nation Exit Poll. With 53-57 seats, the post-poll survey projected TRS ahead of the Congress-TDP-led “mahakutumi" grand alliance. The alliance is likely to win 51-55 seats. Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM is projected to bag 3-7 seats.

Mizoram Exit Poll 2018

The Mizo National Front (MNF) looks headed for facile victory in the 40-member Legislative Assembly of Mizoram which went to poll on November 28, the News Nation Exit polls predicted. While the survey gave 16-20 seats to the MNF, Congress is projected to win 10-14 seats. The Zoram Peoples Movement (ZPM) and the BJP may get 5-9 and 0-4 seats respectively in the state.