Srinagar: Almost all political heavyweights, barring those affiliated with the Congress, have disregarded the exit polls, with former J&K Chief Minister and National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah branding them “pass-time exercises.”
Senior J&K politician Dr Farooq Abdullah plainly said, “I don’t trust these exit polls.” His son and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said, “I’m amazed channels are bothering with exit polls, especially after the fiasco of the recent general elections. I’m ignoring all the noise on channels, social media, WhatsApp, etc.. because the only numbers that matter will be revealed on the 8th of October. The rest is just time passing.”
Tarun Chugh, the BJP’s national general secretary in charge of the J&K polls, said, “The Outcome will defy the findings of the exit polls.”
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Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Zuhaib Mir said, “As far as we are concerned, exit polls are not a serious activity but time pass activity. PDP is confident that it will be an indispensable and important part of the secular government that will form in J-K. PDP will have an important role in forming any secular government. We had said that we are ready to take any step to save the identity of Kashmir, but for this, it is important that we formulate a secular government, a government against BJP, not with them.”
Engineer Rashid, Lok Sabha member and president of Awami Itihad Party (AIP), said, “Everybody is at liberty to have an exit poll. They know better what was the criteria. Let us wait for October 8, as I’ve never relied on exit polls.”
Interestingly, Congress is the only political party that expressed confidence in the numbers predicted for it by the exit polls. JKPCC president Tariq Hameed Karra said, “The projections by various exit polls have vindicated the stand of the Congress and proved the public anger against the BJP.”
It’s important to note that most polls have shown the Congress-NC leading the race but falling short of the magic number, potentially leading to a hung House in the 90-member Assembly. This uncertainty adds an intriguing element to the post-poll scenario.
A ‘Poll of polls ‘, which is an average of multiple exit polls, shows the Congress-NC alliance projected to win 43 seats, three less than the majority mark of 46.
According to India Today-C Voter exit polls, the National Congress (NC)-Congress alliance is projected to win 40-48 seats, while the BJP will likely bag 27-32 seats. Mehbooba Mufti-led People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is seen fetching 6-12 seats while others are seen pocketing another 6-12 seats, an unusually high strike rate for Independent candidates in the valley.
According to Dainik Bhaskar, the Congress-NC combine is expected to emerge as the largest alliance, but it will stay short of the halfway mark. The alliance is seen bagging 35-40 seats, the BJP getting 20-25, and the PDP managing with just 4-7 seats. Others, including Independents, are seen emerging as big players in these exit polls, as they are projected to claim victory in as many as 16 seats.
Peoples Pulse exit poll gives the NC-Congress alliance a clear mandate, with its numbers crossing the halfway mark. It is expected to get 46-50 seats, while the BJP will be reduced to 23-27 seats, and the PDP will get 7-11 seats. All the polling agencies have predicted a clear majority for the BJP in the Jammu region; however, the Congress-NC tie-up is also seen posing a challenge in the region.
In the Kashmir Valley, the people’s mandate is seen as heavily tilted towards the NC-Congress alliance, while the PDP is failing to repeat its clout, like earlier. Even in the case of a fractured mandate, the NC-Congress alliance is expected to be significantly ahead of its closest rival, the BJP, and in a strong position to form the government, the first in the UT after the abrogation of Article 370. This potential shift in power underscores the significance of the situation.
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–IANS
