Jammu & Kashmir Assembly elections 2024: Omar Abdullah dismisses relevance of exit polls

Srinagar: National Conference (NC) leader and former chief minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday dismissed the relevance of exit poll results for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections.

He emphasized that the only figures that truly matter will be those revealed at the end of the counting process on October 8.

In a statement on X, Omar expressed his astonishment at the media's preoccupation with exit polls, particularly in light of the recent general elections, which had seen numerous inaccuracies in predictions.

“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 (sic),” he posted on X.

Most exit polls have indicated that the NC-Congress alliance is poised to secure a simple majority in the 90-member house, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) trailing behind. However, Omar’s skepticism underscores a broader concern about the reliability of such predictions in a politically complex region like Jammu and Kashmir.

The Assembly elections took place in three phases on September 18, September 25, and October 1, with the counting of votes set to unfold on October 8.