Kolkata (West Bengal): Even as exit polls on television channels projected a win for the BJP-led NDA at the Centre, in West Bengal chief minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee said that she doesn’t trust “exit poll gossip” and dubbed it as some “game plan” to manipulate or replace thousands of electronic voting machines.
“I don’t trust Exit Poll gossip. The game plan is to manipulate or replace thousands of EVMs through this gossip. I appeal to all Opposition parties to be united, strong and bold. We will fight this battle together,” tweeted Mamata Banerjee.
Exit polls on television channels on Sunday projected the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to retain power at the Centre with most of the pollsters giving Prime Minister Narendra Modi a clear majority again in the 543-member Lok Sabha.
CNN News 18-IPSOS exit poll gave the BJP and its allies the highest number of 336 seats with the party on its own getting 276 seats, four more than it had won in the 2014 elections. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is projected to get 82 seats of which the Congress will get 46, two more than it bagged in the last elections.
ABP-Nielsen poll projected 267 for the NDA, 127 for the UPA and 148 for ‘Others’. Of the ‘Others’, the grand alliance in Uttar Pradesh is getting an estimated 50 seats.
Times Now-VMR projected 306 seats for the BJP and its allies, while Republic TV-C-
Voter put it at one seat less. In the Times Now poll, the UPA, including the Congress and its allies have been projected to get 132 seats, while ‘Others’ are likely to secure 104 seats. The halfway mark in the Lok Sabha is 272.
In the Republic TV-C-Voter, the UPA has been projected to get 124 while ‘Others’ are projected to get 113 seats. Of this, BSP-SP-RLD alliance is slated to get 26 seats out of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]