TMC rubbishes exit polls predicting BJP edge in Bengal

Trinamool Congress leaders Wednesday Rajya Sabha rubbished exit polls that suggested a clear edge for the BJP in West Bengal, with Rajya Sabha member Derek OBrien questioning the credibility of such projections. In West Bengal, while most exit polls predicted a BJP win, two pollsters - Peoples Pulse and Janmat - projected a comfortable victory for the Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee.

Trinamool Congress leaders Wednesday Rajya Sabha rubbished exit polls that suggested a clear edge for the BJP in West Bengal, with Rajya Sabha member Derek O'Brien questioning the credibility of such projections. In a post on X, O'Brien pointed out that several exit polls had missed the mark during the last West Bengal assembly elections. ''Credibility of exit polls? Bengal polls 2021. How off the mark were the predictions from the final results,'' he said, sharing data from three exit polls that had forecast a close contest between the TMC and the BJP. The TMC eventually secured a decisive victory. O'Brien shared a slide citing three exit polls from 2021, which had projected 143-162 seats for the TMC and 115-“147 for the BJP. However, the TMC went on to win 215 seats, while the BJP secured 77. The party's former Rajya Sabha member Saket Gokhale also weighed in, saying that while exit polls often suggest a ''close contest'' in West Bengal, electoral mandates in the state have historically been decisive. ''Exit polls generally play it safe by calling it a 'close contest' in Bengal. Except that mandates in Bengal are never 'close'. They're always decisive,'' Gokhale said in a post on X. ''No reliable exit poll (if such things exist) is predicting a thumping 180+ 'BJP wave'. My claim on record: TMC will form the government on May 4 in Bengal with a massive mandate,'' he added. In West Bengal, while most exit polls predicted a BJP win, two pollsters - People's Pulse and Janmat - projected a comfortable victory for the Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee. People's Pulse estimated 177-187 seats for the TMC, 95-110 for the BJP, 0-1 for the Left Front and 1-3 for the Congress. Janmat projected 195-205 seats for the TMC, 80-90 for the BJP alliance, and 1-3 for the Congress. Most other pollsters, however, gave the BJP an edge. Matrize projected 146-161 seats for the BJP and 125-140 for the TMC, while P-Marq forecast 150-175 for the BJP and 118-138 for the TMC. Poll Diary estimated 142-171 seats for the BJP, 99-127 for the TMC and 3-5 for the Congress. Praja Poll predicted a strong BJP performance, projecting 178-208 seats for the party, while estimating 85-110 seats for the TMC. West Bengal has a total of 294 assembly seats, with the majority mark set at 148.