MP elections:Uma Bharti Dismisses Reliance on Exit Polls for MP Elections

Uma Bharti Dismisses Reliance on Exit Polls for MP Elections

Uma Bharti, the former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and a prominent BJP figure, expressed her lack of reliance on exit polls. She made this statement on Thursday, highlighting her skepticism towards the accuracy of these polls. The exit polls for the five states are scheduled to be broadcasted later in the evening after the completion of voting in Telangana. The assembly elections were conducted in these states on various dates: November 7 for Mizoram and the initial phase of Chhattisgarh, November 17 for Madhya Pradesh, November 25 for Rajasthan, and November 30 for Telangana.

Bharti conveyed her hope for her party’s success in forming the government in Madhya Pradesh. She also emphasized her deep respect for the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, during her interaction with reporters.

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When questioned about her views on exit polls, Bharti dismissed her reliance on them, citing a critical perspective on their accuracy. She highlighted a common trend where exit polls predict a party’s victory within a specific range of seats, such as between 112 and 130 seats out of 230 in Madhya Pradesh. Bharti criticized the nature of these predictions, stating that if the projected party secures the lower limit of the predicted range and loses, the exit polls claim correctness. Conversely, if the same party exceeds the projection and wins, the exit polls still assert accuracy.

She expressed her skepticism by likening exit polls to two sides of the same coin, suggesting their inherent inconsistency. Bharti firmly stated her lack of reliance on these predictions. Additionally, she referenced a past incident in November 2020 where exit polls inaccurately predicted Rashtriya Janata Dal’s formation of the government in Bihar under Tejashwi Yadav. Bharti recalled a personal anecdote from 1998, mentioning the distribution of sweets at their Bhopal office in anticipation of victory, only to face defeat in the Assembly polls.

In 1998, the Congress, led by Digvijaya Singh, managed to retain power. When asked about the anticipated number of seats the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would secure, Uma Bharti emphasized the party’s concerted efforts to contest and strive for victory in every constituency.

The BJP has held authority in Madhya Pradesh since 2003, except for a brief period of 15 months between December 2018 and March 2020 when Kamal Nath led a Congress government. The Congress administration under Nath dissolved in March 2020, subsequently bringing the BJP back to power under Chouhan’s leadership. During the 2018 Assembly polls, the Congress secured 114 seats while the BJP emerged victorious with 109 seats in the 230-member Assembly.