Opposition parties reject UP exit polls predictions

The SP-RLD alliance has claimed it would win at least 300 seats while Congress is confident of improving its seat share this time around

Opposition leaders on Tuesday rejected the exit polls for Uttar Pradesh, which have predicted that the BJP would return to power in the state, saying that they were "misleading" and did not "reflect the ground reality."

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav said that his party-led alliance would "sweep" the polls, winning over 300 seats. "Let the TV channels show whatever they wish... We are sure of winning over 300 seats," he said.

The SP president also accused the BJP of presenting "false data" to the public during its election campaigns in the state. "The people of the state are capable of differentiating between facts and fiction," he said.

Akhilesh's alliance partner and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) president Jayant Chaudhary also rejected the exit polls and exuded confidence that the SP-RLD alliance would get a comfortable majority in the polls. "I don't agree with the exit polls... They have proved wrong on many occasions... The kind of resentment that I witnessed among the people against the BJP will surely get reflected in the polls," Chaudhary said.

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Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) president Om Prakash Rajbhar, who had allied with the SP, also echoed a similar sentiment. "Many senior BJP leaders will bite the dust in the polls... Exit polls are completely against the ground reality in the state," Rajbhar said.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also exuded confidence that her party would do well in the polls. "We are hopeful of a better performance in the polls," she said.

On whether her party would extend support to the SP in the event of a hung assembly, the Congress leader said that a decision in this regard would be taken only after such a situation arose.

BSP leaders also rejected the exit polls and claimed that their party would get more seats than what was being predicted by the TV channels.

The exit polls have predicted the return of the BJP in the state with a comfortable majority. Most of the exit polls gave the BJP between 225 and 250 seats, followed by the SP.

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