CHANDIGARH: The exit polls post the Lok Sabha elections state that the BJP is ahead of the Congress in Haryana but will not have a clean sweep. The INDIA bloc with the Congress contesting nine seats and AAP one would perform better than the 2019 elections.
Overall, the graph of the BJP has come down. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had won all 10 seats but this time, the Congress was resurgent, as the exit polls are forecasting. The India TV-CNX and India Today-Axis My India exit polls showed six to eight seats for the BJP and two to four seat for the Congress. The News 24-Today’s Chanakya gave six seats to the BJP and four seats to the Congress. The India News and Times Now-ETG Survey gave seven seats to the BJP and three to the Congress.
The “Jan Ki Baat” gave seven or eight seats to the BJP and two or three seats to the Congress. The Republic Bharat projected seven to nine seats for the BJP, highest by any agency, and one to three seats to the Congress. The News 18 Mega Exit Poll predicted five to seven seats for the BJP and three to five seats for the Congress.
However, the Congress was expecting to win more seats than the BJP. It was riding on anti-incumbency sentiments against the state government and had even tried to localise the elections. On the other hand, the BJP had sought votes in the name of PM Narendra Modi.
The Lok Sabha election results are important for the state politics as the Assembly elections are slated to be held in October. The historical data suggests a spillover effect of the Lok Sabha elections on the state Assembly elections as was witnessed in 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019.
“The exit polls are giving a few seats to the Congress but when the election results are announced on June 4, the BJP would have bagged all 10 seats. Even psephologists say there can be a difference of five per cent,” said BJP spokesperson Praveen Attrey. However, Congress media in-charge Chandvir Hooda said they were winning eight or more seats.