Rahul Gandhi junks exit polls as ‘Modi fantasy’, predicts 295 for Opposition

Neeraj Mohan

New Delhi, June 2

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has rejected the exit polls which have predicted a decisive victory for the BJP-led NDA in the 18th Lok Sabha elections, terming the projections as “Modi fantasy poll”. Following a virtual meeting with party leaders, Rahul labelled the exit polls as “Modi media poll”.

• Editorial: Exit poll results

“It is not an exit poll, it is Modi media poll. This is Modi ji’s fantasy poll. Have you heard Sidhu Moosewala’s song ‘295’? We will get 295 seats,” he remarked, addressing the media after a strategic meeting at the AICC headquarters here.

Cites Moosewala

Have you heard Sidhu Moosewala’s song ‘295’? We will get 295 seats. — Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader

Moosewala, who was shot dead by unidentified assailants on May 29, 2022, had unveiled his track “295”, which expressed his opinion on Section 295 of the Indian Penal Code. The provision deals with acts which are aimed to offend religious beliefs and feelings of people. The song gained massive popularity following the killing of Moosewala. Rahul’s comments came in response to the exit poll surveys, which have forecast a substantial victory for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, suggesting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s return to power with an even stronger mandate. The INDIA bloc, an opposition coalition, is projected to secure between 131 and 166 seats, with other parties expected to win the remaining seats. The final outcome will come on June 4.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed the exit poll predictions were not consistent with the ground reality and alleged that they were “manufactured at home” two months back. JMM leader and Jharkhand CM Champai Soren, BJD leader VK Pandian, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut were among those who questioned the reliability of the exit polls.

State Cong leaders confident of victory

A day after exit polls predicted a landslide victory for the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections, Congress leaders expressed confidence on Sunday that the party would perform significantly better than projected in several states, including Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi held a virtual meeting with all party candidates to assess the ground situation ahead of the results. The Congress leaders from the state asserted that the INDIA bloc would form the next government.

Punjab leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa stated that all surveys had given the Congress seven to eight seats. “We are ahead on nine seats. One seat will go to AAP and three seats will be won by candidates who will not support the NDA or PM. The INDIA bloc will secure a minimum of 10 seats… In Punjab, the NDA will not get even a single seat,” he said. Haryana Congress president Udai Bhan said, “The predictions in the exit polls are false and misleading and the party was winning eight of 10 seats in Haryana against the one to two seats predicted in the exit poll.” Himachal CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the Congress had an edge on two parliamentary seats and was in a tight contest for the other two seats in the hill state. He expressed confidence that the Congress would also win the six Assembly seats where bypoll had taken place.

Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar claimed his party would win at least two-third of the 28 seats, attributing this to the popularity of the guarantees the Congress fulfilled after coming to power.