Maharashtra Congress in-charge Ramesh Chennithala along with party state President Nana Patole during a press conference, in Mumbai.
Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: Maharashtra AICC in-charge Ramesh Chennithala rejected on Wednesday the exit polls on the possible outcome of the state assembly elections, asserting that Maha Vikas Aghadi is poised to clinch a comfortable majority.
"Exit polls do not reflect the sentiments of people," Chennithala said after several pollsters gave a clear edge to the BJP-led alliances in Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly polls, while some put the MVA coalition ahead in the western state.
Most of the exit polls that predicted a landslide victory for the NDA after Lok Sabha elections and those predicted Congress' win in Haryana didn't turn out to be true, he said.
"We will win Maharashtra polls with a comfortable majority. We don't believe in exit polls. Look at the Parliamentary elections and Haryana elections. The exit polls do not reflect people's sentiments," Chennithala told PTI.
The ground reality is MVA scoring the majority and forming a government in Maharashtra, he said.
MVA comprises Shiv Sena, headed by Uddhav Thackeray, Congress, and NCP (SP).
Anish Gawande, spokesperson of Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), said exit polls should be treated with a pinch of salt.
"This election was fought at the booth level. The alliance that will be the most successful at bringing loyal voters to booths will win. Maha Vikas Aghadi will emerge as the winning alliance," he said.
Voting for all 288 assembly seats was held in Maharashtra in a single phase on Wednesday. The results will be declared on Saturday.
With an estimated 60 per cent voter turnout recorded in elections, Gawande claimed the polling percentage is not higher than in Lok Sabha or in the last assembly elections, which shows that the much-touted impact of the last-minute welfare schemes was overestimated.
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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