<p>New Delhi: Trinamool Congress leaders Wednesday rubbished exit polls that predicted a clear edge for the BJP in West Bengal, with Rajya Sabha member Derek O'Brien questioning the credibility of such projections.</p>.<p>In a post on X, O'Brien pointed out that several exit polls had missed the mark during the last West Bengal assembly elections.</p>.West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026 | 95-year-old denied voting rights over spelling error.<p>"Credibility of exit polls? Bengal polls 2021. How off the mark were the predictions from the final results," he said, sharing data from three exit polls that had forecast a close contest between the TMC and the BJP. The TMC eventually secured a decisive victory.</p>.<p>O'Brien shared a slide citing three exit polls from 2021, which had projected 143-162 seats for the TMC and 115-147 for the BJP. However, the TMC went on to win 215 seats, while the BJP secured 77.</p>.<p>The party's former Rajya Sabha member Saket Gokhale also weighed in, saying that while exit polls often suggest a "close contest" in West Bengal, electoral mandates in the state have historically been decisive.</p>.<p>"Exit polls generally play it safe by calling it a 'close contest' in Bengal. Except that mandates in Bengal are never 'close'. They're always decisive," Gokhale said in a post on X.</p>.<p>"No reliable exit poll (if such things exist) is predicting a thumping 180+ 'BJP wave'. My claim on record: TMC will form the government on May 4 in Bengal with a massive mandate," he added.</p>.<p>In West Bengal, while most exit polls predicted a BJP win, two pollsters - People's Pulse and Janmat - projected a comfortable victory for the Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee.</p>.<p>People's Pulse estimated 177-187 seats for the TMC, 95-110 for the BJP, 0-1 for the Left Front and 1-3 for the Congress. Janmat projected 195-205 seats for the TMC, 80-90 for the BJP alliance, and 1-3 for the Congress.</p>.<p>Most other pollsters, however, gave the BJP an edge. Matrize projected 146-161 seats for the BJP and 125-140 for the TMC, while P-Marq forecast 150-175 for the BJP and 118-138 for the TMC.</p>.West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026 | 'Highest-ever' voter turnout of over 92% amidst SIR shadow caps fierce BJP-TMC faceoff.<p>Poll Diary estimated 142-171 seats for the BJP, 99-127 for the TMC and 3-5 for the Congress. Praja Poll predicted a strong BJP performance, projecting 178-208 seats for the party, while estimating 85-110 seats for the TMC.</p>.<p>West Bengal has a total of 294 assembly seats, with the majority mark set at 148. </p>
<p>New Delhi: Trinamool Congress leaders Wednesday rubbished exit polls that predicted a clear edge for the BJP in West Bengal, with Rajya Sabha member Derek O'Brien questioning the credibility of such projections.</p>.<p>In a post on X, O'Brien pointed out that several exit polls had missed the mark during the last West Bengal assembly elections.</p>.West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026 | 95-year-old denied voting rights over spelling error.<p>"Credibility of exit polls? Bengal polls 2021. How off the mark were the predictions from the final results," he said, sharing data from three exit polls that had forecast a close contest between the TMC and the BJP. The TMC eventually secured a decisive victory.</p>.<p>O'Brien shared a slide citing three exit polls from 2021, which had projected 143-162 seats for the TMC and 115-147 for the BJP. However, the TMC went on to win 215 seats, while the BJP secured 77.</p>.<p>The party's former Rajya Sabha member Saket Gokhale also weighed in, saying that while exit polls often suggest a "close contest" in West Bengal, electoral mandates in the state have historically been decisive.</p>.<p>"Exit polls generally play it safe by calling it a 'close contest' in Bengal. Except that mandates in Bengal are never 'close'. They're always decisive," Gokhale said in a post on X.</p>.<p>"No reliable exit poll (if such things exist) is predicting a thumping 180+ 'BJP wave'. My claim on record: TMC will form the government on May 4 in Bengal with a massive mandate," he added.</p>.<p>In West Bengal, while most exit polls predicted a BJP win, two pollsters - People's Pulse and Janmat - projected a comfortable victory for the Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee.</p>.<p>People's Pulse estimated 177-187 seats for the TMC, 95-110 for the BJP, 0-1 for the Left Front and 1-3 for the Congress. Janmat projected 195-205 seats for the TMC, 80-90 for the BJP alliance, and 1-3 for the Congress.</p>.<p>Most other pollsters, however, gave the BJP an edge. Matrize projected 146-161 seats for the BJP and 125-140 for the TMC, while P-Marq forecast 150-175 for the BJP and 118-138 for the TMC.</p>.West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026 | 'Highest-ever' voter turnout of over 92% amidst SIR shadow caps fierce BJP-TMC faceoff.<p>Poll Diary estimated 142-171 seats for the BJP, 99-127 for the TMC and 3-5 for the Congress. Praja Poll predicted a strong BJP performance, projecting 178-208 seats for the party, while estimating 85-110 seats for the TMC.</p>.<p>West Bengal has a total of 294 assembly seats, with the majority mark set at 148. </p>