 "Haryana CM rejects exit polls; Bhupinder Hooda expects 65 seats for Cong")
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Saturday dismissed the Assembly elections exit polls that predicted a massive victory for the Congress and claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party will return to power for the third time.
While speaking to reporters, Saini exuded confidence that the BJP will form the government again with a complete majority on October 8. “Work has been done for every section of society in the past 10 years, and the state has been freed from regionalism and dynastic politics,” Saini said.
Buoyed by a thumping victory prediction for the Congress, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda projected that the party will win close to 65 seats on its own. There are 90 Assembly constituencies in Haryana, and 45 are needed to form the government.
Hooda, aiming for a third term as Chief Minister said, “I feel that we will win 65 plus-minus seats.”
At least three exit polls predicted victory for the Congress in Haryana, hours after polling was concluded on Saturday. Haryana polled for all seats in a single phase.
What do exit polls say about Haryana elections?
According to Bhaskar Reporter’s Poll survey, the Congress is projected to win about 44-54 constituencies, while the BJP could win up to 29 constituencies. It said that regional player Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), which contested the polls in an alliance with Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), could win 1-5 seats in total. During the 2019 Assembly polls, INLD had won just one seat - Ellenabad (Sirsa) – retained by its senior leader and the scion of the influential Chautala family, Abhay Singh Chautala.
The survey also projected that Dushyant Chautala’s Jannayak Janata Party, which is contesting the polls in an alliance with the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram), may face a complete wipe out except for winning just one seat. Last time, it had won 10 seats.
Another exit poll, Republic Matrize, projected that the Congress will win about 55-62 seats, while the BJP - 18 to 24.
According to India Today-CVoter, the Congress could win 50-58 seats. It predicted 20-28 seats for the BJP.
NOTE: Exit polls are surveys conducted immediately after voters leave polling stations, used to predict election outcomes based on their responses. Exit polls do not reflect the official or final election outcomes. The actual results may vary as votes are counted and officially declared.