Congress' DK Shivakumar rubbishes exit polls, says 'INDIA will form govt'

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], June 3 : Congress leader and Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar claimed on Monday that the opposition coalition, the INDIA bloc, will form government at the Centre as he dismissed the exit poll results.
When asked about the exit poll results, DK Shivakumar said, "I don't believe (exit poll findings)," adding, "INDIA will form the government."
The exit polls on June 1 predicted a landslide victory for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the Lok Sabha polls.
Earlier today, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also rejected the exit poll predictions as "media creation" as he expressed confidence in the INDIA bloc crossing the 295-mark in the Lok Sabha elections.
"We are not going to agree with the exit poll. Exit polls are a media creation. In the Centre, our President has made it very clear that the INDIA alliance will win 295 seats," Siddaramaiah told ANI on Monday.
The exit polls predicted that the ruling BJP-led NDA is poised to improve its performance over its 2019 record when it won 352 seats. Two polls predicted the BJP would improve its numbers from the 303 seats it won in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
According to India Today-Axis My India exit polls, NDA is predicted to win 361-401 seats in the Lok Sabha polls. The INDIA bloc is expected to win 131-166 seats, it said, and gave 8 to 20 seats to other parties.
The Republic PMarq exit poll gave 359 of 543 seats to NDA, 154 to the INDIA bloc, and 30 to others. Republic Matrize poll gave 353-368 seats to NDA, 118-113 to the INDIA bloc, and 43-48 to others. The NewsX Dynamics gave 371 seats to NDA, 125 to INDIA bloc, and 47 to others.
The Lok Sabha polls were held in seven phases starting from April 19. The counting of votes will be conducted on June 4.