Terming the exit polls "bogus," the Congress said on Sunday they were a "deliberate attempt" to justify the rigging of the elections and part of "psychological games" being played by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lower the morale of the INDIA bloc workers.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh criticised Prime Minister Modi for holding numerous meetings, including a lengthy session to review a 100-day agenda for the "new government," calling them "pressure tactics" and signalling Modi's anticipated return.
Ramesh described Modi's actions as "mind games," signalling his return as prime minister. He urged civil servants overseeing the vote count not to be intimidated by these tactics.
He also said that the exit polls that came out Saturday evening are "completely bogus" and have been "orchestrated and masterminded by the man whose exit is inevitable and guaranteed on June 4.".
"These are all part of the psychological games being played by the outgoing prime minister (Narendra Modi) and the outgoing home minister (Amit Shah). The outgoing home minister called up 150 district magistrates and collectors yesterday. The results that the exit polls have come up with bear no relation to reality," the Congress leader said.
Exit polls on Saturday predicted that Prime Minister Modi will retain power for a third straight term, with the BJP-led NDA 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 INDIA bloc 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.
Slamming the exit polls, Ramesh said that in some states, the NDA has been given more seats than the number of seats available in that state.
"It flies in the face of all political feedback. The INDIA 'janbandhan' parties met yesterday; we went through state-wise analysis, and there is no way INDIA janbandhan is going to get less than 295 seats," Ramesh said.
"This is a deliberate attempt to justify the rigging and manipulation of EVMs. It's also a psychological operation to demoralise Congress and Indian Janbandhan workers. We won't be intimidated, and the actual results on June 4 will prove the exit polls wrong," the Congress general secretary asserted.
These are political exit polls and not professional exit polls, he added.
Ramesh pointed out that Congress treasurer and senior leader Ajay Maken has raised the issue of candidates' counting agents at the Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) table not being allowed.
He said the Congress has raised all such issues before the poll watchdog and has filed 117 complaints with it over the past 77 days, 14 of which are against the PM.
"There has been no credible action from the EC. It is a constitutional body, and we expect it to function in an impartial, professional manner and must give us the confidence that it is on top of the job," he said.
Ramesh reiterated that the exit polls have been "deliberately engineered by the man whose exit is inevitable on June 4.".
On the slew of meetings being held by the PM on Sunday, Ramesh said, "All mind games being played, the fact that the outgoing home minister is talking to 150 DMs and collectors, the fact that the outgoing PM is talking to secretaries on his so-called plan. He needs a 100-day plan of what he is going to do after June 4." The counting of votes will take place on June 4.
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