The Congress is likely to skip participating in the exit polls on Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly elections on Wednesday (November 20). According to news agency ANI, the party will not send its spokespersons to TV channels for discussions on exit polls outcome.
The decision by Congress is a repeat of the party's call to boycott the exit polls held during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. However, the party later made a U-turn over its decision following uproar on social media.
TV news channels will start showing the results of exit polls for Maharashtra and Jharkhand after 6.30 -7:00 pm, when the voting closes. Elections in Maharashtra was held in a single phase on Wednesday, November 20. Polling in Jharkhand was held in two phases - on November 13 and 20. The counting of votes in both states will be held on November 23.
Exit Polls: A contentious topic
Exit polls have gained both prominence and infamy in recent years. Considered to be an important part of election coverage, majority of the exit polls were incorrect in predicting the results of the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.
Almost all the exit polls had predicted a clear majority for the BJP led NDA in the Lok Sabha polls. Majority of the exit polls had shown the BJP alone crossing the mark of 300 and even 350 in the 2024 general elections. However, the results proved all the exit polls predicting a clear and brute majority for the BJP as incorrect.
Though the NDA managed to form government at Centre, the BJP won 240 seats in the Lok Sabha elections, a far cry from what the exit polls had predicted. The INDIA alliance formed by the Opposition parties did much better than it was predicted by the exit polls and won 235 seats with the Congress winning 99 seats.
Exit polls and pollsters were proved wrong in the recently concluded Haryana assembly elections too. Several exit polls predicted a one-sided victory for the Congress party and a rout for the BJP. However, the BJP registered a clear victory, proving the pollsters wrong again.
