Exit Polls Miss the Mark in Indian State Elections

Exit polls inaccurately predicted outcomes in Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir state elections. Despite forecasts favoring Congress and National Conference, BJP secured a third consecutive term in Haryana and the National Conference-Congress alliance triumphed in Jammu & Kashmir, highlighting discrepancies between predictions and actual results.

Exit polls, which had predicted a clear majority for Congress in Haryana and an advantage for National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir, failed once again to capture the voters' sentiments accurately.

The assembly election results revealed the BJP was poised to form the government for a record third consecutive term in Haryana, while the National Conference-Congress alliance comfortably seized power in Jammu and Kashmir.

Although nearly all exit polls had forecast more than 50 seats for Congress in the 90-member Haryana assembly, the BJP eventually won 48 seats, contrary to predictions.

Various polls such as C-Voter-India Today and Republic Bharat-Matrize, had indicated Congress securing between 50 to 62 seats and the BJP just 18 to 28.

Contrary to forecasts, the actual results showed the National Conference winning 42 seats in Jammu and Kashmir, with Congress achieving just six, defying pre-election predictions, and reflecting the challenges in exit poll accuracy.

(With inputs from agencies.)