Modi set to return with 350-400 seats, say exit polls

Exit polls on Saturday predicted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will retain power for a third straight term, with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance expected to win a big majority in the Lok Sabha polls.

While India Today-Axis My India has forecast 361-401 seats for the BJP-led alliance and 131-166 seats for the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) in the 543-member Lok Sabha, the ABP-C Voter predicted 353-383 seats for the ruling alliance and 152-182 seats for the INDIA bloc.

Today's Chanakya gave a much higher tally for the BJP and its alliance than the 2019 polls.

It predicted 335 seats to the BJP and 400 to the NDA, with a margin of 15 seats either way. It gave 107 seats to the opposition alliance with a possibility of its tally going up or down by 11 seats.

The BJP had given the slogan of '400 paar' for its alliance in the Lok Sabha polls.

If the exit polls hold true, Modi will equal the record of the country's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, in leading his party to victory at the polls for a third straight term.

The Times Now-ETG Research's exit poll gave 358 and 152 seats to the NDA and the INDIA bloc respectively.

Many pollsters said the NDA may surpass its 2019 tally of 353 seats. The BJP had won 303 seats in the election.

The Congress had bagged 53 seats and its allies 38.

The 'INDIA' bloc was formed by opposition parties to take on the BJP-led NDA in the Lok Sabha elections.

The NDA in all likelihood will open its account in Tamil Nadu and Kerala and sweep Karnataka but may see a fall in its tally in states like Bihar, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Haryana, while Uttar Pradesh is expected to remain a BJP bastion, according to most pollsters.

News18 predicted that the BJP on its own will get 306-315 seats while its alliance will bag 355-370 seats.

It gave 125-140 seats to the opposition alliance.

India Today-Axis My India has forecast 322-340 seats for the BJP, 60-76 seats for the Congress and 71-90 seats for Congress allies.

The Republic TV-P Marq poll claimed that the ruling alliance will win up to 359 seats and the opposition INDIA bloc will bag 154 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha. The Republic TV-Matrize poll gave 353-368 seats to the NDA and 118-133 seats to the opposition.

The Jan Ki Baat poll gave 362-392 seats to the ruling NDA and 141-161 to the opposition alliance.

The India TV-CNX gave them 371-401 and 109-139 seats respectively, while the corresponding tally predicted by News Nation was 342-378 and 153-169.

After the seventh and last phase of voting ended on Saturday, Modi on Saturday said that people have voted in record numbers to re-elect the NDA government and said the 'opportunistic INDI Alliance' failed to strike a chord with the voters who rejected their 'regressive politics'.

The Congress, however, claimed that the exit polls had been 'orchestrated' by PM Modi and said these are all 'psychological games' he is masterminding, but the actual results will be very different.

Reacting to the exit polls, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "The man whose exit is certain on June 4th has had these exit polls orchestrated. The INDIA Janbandhan will definitely get a minimum of 295 seats, which is a clear and decisive majority."

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge told reporters after a meeting of the opposition INDIA bloc that the alliance will win more than 295 seats.

"We have arrived at this figure after speaking with all our leaders. This is a survey of people. People have given this information to our leaders. The government surveys are there and their media friends also inflate figures and put it out. Therefore, we want to tell you about the reality," he said.

BJP president J P Nadda, however, asserted that people have voted in favour of a capable, powerful, developed and self-reliant India and to put aside appeasement, nepotism and corruption, exuding confidence that his party will win more than 370 Lok Sabha seats and the NDA over 400.

In a post in Hindi on X, poll strategist Prashant Kishor, who had predicted a comfortable majority for the BJP-led NDA, took a swipe at his critics.

"Next time when it comes to elections and politics, do not waste your precious time on the idle talk and analysis of fake journalists, loud mouth politicians and self-proclaimed experts on social media," he said.

The counting of votes will take place on June 4.