"We don't take exit polls very seriously," says Shashi Tharoor ahead of election results
Oct 06, 2024
New Delhi [India], October 6 : After several exit polls projected a possible comeback for Congress in Haryana and edge to its alliance with National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir, party MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said that they don't take the exit polls "very seriously."
"We do not take the exit polls very seriously. This time the news is good. We are getting information that we will win. Everything will be clear on October 8," said Tharoor.
But, contrary to Tharoor, several Congress leaders exuded confidence in the party's and alliance's victory in both Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir respectively.
Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana have rejected the ideology of Bharatiya Janata Party and the party will not come to power in both the states.
Venugopal further said that the northern states of India have "drastically" changed in favour of the Congress.
"It is very certain that Congress is alone going to form the government in Haryana, and in Jammu and Kashmir, the alliance of NC and Congress will form the government. It is very clear that the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana have rejected BJP's ideology. This is very clear that the North-Indian stand is drastically changing in favour of Congress. Congress will sweep Haryana. In both these places, the BJP will have no place in power," he said.
Congress leader Harish Rawat said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have voted for peace and development and the only option they could find is the National Conference-Congress alliance.
He also said that the people of Haryana will avenge the disrespect by the BJP in the last ten years and that the Congress will form a government with a majority in the state.
Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini also exuded confidence in forming a government "alone", saying, they have "all the arrangements."
"We will not need any kind of alliance; I have said from the very beginning that the BJP will form the government alone. We have all the arrangements. I am confident that BJP will alone form the government but if we need that (alliance) we will give it a thought; we have all the arrangements," said CM Saini while addressing a press conference.
The exit polls predicted a clean sweep for the Congress in Haryana, with some polls predicting the party will win more than 50 of the 90 seats in the assembly.
Notably, the Axis My India has predicted a hung assembly in Jammu and Kashmir with the National Conference-Congress alliance slightly ahead and the BJP tailgating the opposition.
According to Axis My India, the NC-Congress alliance can win 35-45 seats whereas the BJP can win 24-34 seats. Notably, the majority mark to form the government in the Union Territory is 46 and the prediction has shown no one above the mark.
The single-phase polling for 90 Assembly Constituencies in Haryana concluded peacefully on Saturday across more than 20,000 polling stations and recorded a final voter turnout of 65.65 percent.
Jammu and Kashmir went to polls in three phases on September 18, September 25 and October 1.
The results of the assembly elections for both states will be declared on October 8.