Don’t go by polls, surprise awaits on May 23: Congress

NEW DELHI: Congress rubbished exit polls predicting a landslide for the BJP-led NDA, saying the results on May 23 would surprise the ruling party even as political circles believed that even the lower end of the projections could well rule out any opportunity for an opposition coalition.
Though every exit poll pointed in the direction of an NDA win, Congress spokesman Rajeev Gowda said, “Please wait till May 23. We will surprise you. The entire vote share to seat share conversion is a difficult job. There is also a fear psychosis in the country and people do not reveal their views.”
Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee called the exit polls “gossip” and said, “The game plan is to manipulate or replace thousands of EVMs through this gossip.”
But rhetoric apart, the consensus among the polls about a BJP victory left the opposition gripped with doubt and hoping for a repeat of 2004 when predictions proved wide off the mark. In 2004, the pollsters had gone with a victory for the NDA but the results saw Congress emerge as the single-largest party.
Insiders did betray concerns over possible results. Many were worried that post-poll predictions had only attested to the fact pointed out by in-house surveys — that Congress was doing badly even in states where it defeated BJP in December elections last year. Congress strategists believe that if NDA touches 230, it would be difficult to stop BJP from forming the government again. But if the figure drops below 230, then much would depend on the tally that Congress notches up. A figure below 100, besides being embarrassing, would render the party vulnerable to the demands of regional satraps to cede leadership to them.