Lok Sabha exit polls 2019: SP-BSP seen causing minimal damage to BJP

A look at all exit polls 2019 shows that the SP-BSP combine might not have managed to spoil the BJP's tally as much as was thought initially

NDTV’s poll of polls – an aggregation of all eight exit polls for the 2019 general elections, shows that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) might not bleed as much as was being perceived earlier on account of the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) contesting Lok Sabha elections 2019 together. The poll of polls predicts that BJP-led alliance in UP could win 46 of the 80 seats. The SP-BSP-RLD combine, popularly called the Mahagathbandhan, is predicted to win 32 seats in the state. The Congress, meanwhile, is seen getting the remaining two seats. 

While the poll of polls gives the BJP an edge, the seats the saffron party is expected to win are considerably fewer than it did in 2014. In the previous general elections, the BJP had on its own bagged 71 of the 80 seats in the state, while its alliance partner, Anupriya Patel-led Apna Dal, had won two seats. The BSP had drawn a blank in 2014, while the SP and Congress had won five and two seats, respectively. 

There are significant variations among the different polls that the poll of polls takes in account to arrive at its numbers. The ABP News-Nielsen exit poll has predicted BJP to win 22 of the 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh. The Times Now-VMR exit poll has predicted the BJP+ to get 58 seats, followed by SP-BSP with 20 seats, and Congress 2 in Uttar Pradesh. The NewsX-Neta exit poll, meanwhile, has predicted the BJP to bag 33 seats in UP, with the SP-BSP-RLD combine winning 43 seats. The NewsX-Neta poll predicts the Congress to win four seats in India’s most electorally crucial state.