Assembly elections: Congress to skip exit polls of Maharashtra, Jharkhand

Congress had also refused to participate in the exit polls of the Lok Sabha elections in May. Senior party leader Pawan Khera had noted that Congress will not indulge in speculation

The Congress party will not be participating in the exit polls for the Jharkhand and Maharashtra elections, which will be telecast later on Wednesday, news agency ANI reported, citing party sources. Voting is underway for the second and final phase of the Jharkhand Assembly elections and the single-phase Assembly elections in Maharashtra.

 

Jharkhand conducted the first phase of elections on November 13. The results of both elections will be announced by the Election Commission on Saturday (November 23). 

Congress skipped Lok Sabha exit polls

Notably, the Congress had also refused to participate in the exit polls for the Lok Sabha elections in May. Senior party leader and spokesperson Pawan Khera had defended the decision, stating that Congress would not indulge in speculation before the actual results were announced on June 4. 

 

The leading Opposition party had stunned the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Lok Sabha polls by securing almost double the number of seats (99) compared to the 2019 elections (52). The majority of exit polls, which predicted a landslide victory for the BJP, were proven wrong, as the Congress-led INDIA bloc managed 234 seats across India, while the BJP won 240 seats, well below the magic figure of 272.

Haryana exit polls debacle

In the recent Assembly elections in Haryana, at least four major exit polls were proven wrong once again after predicting a comfortable victory for the Congress. During the vote counting on October 8, Congress appeared to be leading in the initial hours. However, the party was left stunned as the trend reversed later in the day, with the BJP securing 48 out of 90 constituencies despite facing issues such as anti-incumbency.

 

Exit polls are surveys conducted immediately after voters leave polling stations, used to predict election outcomes based on their responses. They do not reflect the official or final election outcomes. The actual results may vary as votes are counted and officially declared.