Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Mendhar, Murtaza Khan on Sunday refused to accept exit poll projections on Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, saying that the exit poll numbers are far away from the actual numbers.
Speaking to ANI, Murtaza Khan said “The exit polls sometimes don’t show the reality. The exit polls and results have a huge difference in the recently concluded parliamentary elections. The exit poll numbers are far away from the actual numbers. They are not even close to form government.”
Exit polls predict a hung assembly with the NC-Congress alliance slightly ahead and the BJP tailgating the opposition.
The Election Commission of India said that an overall 63.88 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the Assembly elections. The counting of votes will take place on October 8.
When asked about External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s visit to Pakistan, Khan said that Jaishankar is visiting Pakistan for a multilateral conference and there will be a chance for him to hold talks with Pakistan, highlighting that good relation between the two countries will benefit the people of the region.
Jaishankar is set to visit Islamabad for a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) conclave on October 15 and 16. However, he has already clarified that he will not engage in discussions about India-Pakistan relations during his visit.
Earlier on Saturday, former Deputy Chief Minister of J-K and BJP leader Kavinder Gupta hinted that the BJP is holding talks with “like-minded” parties.”
“It is only in the exit polls that Congress-NC has got these seats, but BJP will emerge as the biggest party once the correct results are out. We are confident of getting more than 35 seats in Jammu province and the remaining from Kashmir. BJP will be in a better condition in Kashmir. Talks are going on with like-minded parties,” Gupta said.
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.
According to the predictions, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) can win 4-6 seats while Awam Ittehad Party-led by Baramulla MP Engineer Rashid can win 3-8.
The Axis My India has given Sajjad Lone’s People’s Conference 1-3 while others can get 4-10 seats.
As per its prediction, the NC-Congress vote share can go up to 38 per cent while the BJP on 21.
National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah dismissed the exit poll predictions.
In a post on X, Abdullah said, “I’m amazed channels are bothering with exit polls, especially after the fiasco of the recent general elections. I’m ignoring all the noise on channels, social media, WhatsApp Etc because the only numbers that matter will be revealed on the 8th of Oct. The rest is just time pass.”
According to TV-Today C-voter projections, the NC-Congress alliance is likely to win 40-48 seats while the BJP can win 27-32. Former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti-led People’s Democratic Party is likely to win 6-12 seats whereas others can win 6-11.
As per Dainik Bhaskar’s projection, the NC-Congress alliance can win seats ranging from 35-40. The BJP can win 20-25 seats, PDP 4-7 while the others can win 12-18 seats.
The People Pulse survey has predicted 46-50 seats for the NC-Congress alliance and 23-27 for the BJP. As per them, the PDP can win 7-11 whereas the others can win 4-6 seats.
The Gulistan News projection on Republic TV projected 28-30 seats for the National Conference, 3-6 seats for the Congress, 5-7 seats for the PDP and 8-16 seats for other parties and independents. (ANI)
