Mamata bins exit poll predictions that say Modi leads

After seven rounds of voting in the Lok Sabha elections, the exit polls have predicted a third term for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal termed the survey to be ‘fake’.

“I don’t believe what is being shown about our state,” she said in a televised interview and stated, It‍‍’s totally ‘fake’.

Exit polls have predicted that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will emerge as the single largest party in West Bengal. 

According to a survey, the Trinamool Congress will likely get fewer votes than the BJP in West Bengal. 

The state’s ruling party Trinamool may secure 11 seats. 

For More Reading: Modi Proceeds in Election, Mamata Denies (In Bengali)

Mamata questioned, “How can the media say that who will win in certain seats? How much money they got?"

"I don’t believe the media. I am telling all of my staff at the party to be strong and make a good calculation. I will get many votes for what the media has now shown. We will win all the seats," she added.

Mamata Banerjee did not reveal how many votes her party would get in the state. 

“I am not going anywhere. I can tell you one thing, the way we worked in the field and saw the eyes of the people, I never thought that people would not vote for us.”

At the end of the last phase of polling on Saturday, various exit polls showed that the BJP, not the Trinamool, would be ahead this time. Narendra Modi will be swearing-in as the prime minister of India for the third consecutive term. And if that is indeed the case, Narendra Modi will be regarded as the most successful Prime Minister after Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru for 3 terms.

According to the India Today-Axis My India exit poll, the BJP will likely get 26-31 seats. Apart from this, 11-14 seats can be won by the Trinamool and 0-2 seats by the Left-Congress alliance in the West Bengal. 

According to News Today and Chanakya, the BJP is likely to win 24 seats, the Trinamool 17 and the Left-Congress alliance one.

News18 gave 21-24 seats to the BJP and 18-21 seats to the TMC. The Congress and the Left leaning parties did not get any from this prediction.

News Nation and TV-9, Pollstat, and People‍‍’s Insight, however, put Trinamool ahead in their surveys. 

According to News Nation, the BJP is likely to win 19 seats, the Trinamool 22, and the Left-Congress alliance one. 

Moreover, Pollstat and People‍‍’s Insight said, the TMC is likely to win 24 seats, the BJP 17 and the Congress one.

Mentionable, West Bengal elects 42 of 543 Lok Sabha seats.

BJP state spokesperson Shamik Bhattacharya said his party will win more than 30 seats as per the exit polls. Mamata Banerjee, however, dismissed the survey as a ‘hoax.’ She said, “This is the drama of opposition.”

Mamata Banerjee not only attacked the BJP but also the Congress and the CPI(M). 

“The Congress and the CPI(M) are working in collusion with the BJP. As far as the relationship with the Indian National Congress (INC), which is one of the constituents of the ‘India‍’ alliance, is concerned, the relationship between the state Congress and the TMC in this state (West Bengal) will not be affected,” the chief minister said.

The West Bengal chief minister also said, “The CPI(M) will not be a hurdle at the national level if it does not budge. I feel all is well in India. And I have supported them. But they are being monitored by the CPM. Why should the CPM be their spokesperson? I have a question here.”

What will ‘India’ do if the BJP comes to power?
The interviewer asked, What will the TMC do if ‘India’ comes to power after defeating the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections? What else will you decide? 

In response, the West Bengal Chief Minister said, “We will go. If such a situation arises, I will talk to you. We don‍‍‍`t have any problem.”