wb-exit-poll-row-heats-up-abhishek-calls-meet-ahead-of-counting

Amid a political storm over exit poll projections, Trinamool Congress (TMC) General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee has convened an urgent virtual meeting on Saturday at 4 pm to boost the morale of TMC workers and counting agents ahead of vote counting. According to party sources, the meeting has been called to counter any sense of despondency triggered by exit polls that predict a victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the West Bengal assembly elections.

 

Abhishek is expected to urge party representatives to remain vigilant at counting centres and not rely on survey projections, stressing that they must stay until the completion of vote tabulation.

 

The development comes immediately after the conclusion of the final phase of polling, which has triggered a sharp political face-off over exit poll findings. While most surveys indicate that the BJP could cross the majority mark in the 294-seat Assembly, the ruling TMC has strongly rejected these projections.

 

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee dismissed the exit polls as “scripted” and alleged that they were “bought and paid for.” She claimed that the figures currently being aired on television were circulated from a BJP office and that media organisations were pressured into broadcasting them.

 

Mamata further alleged that such narratives are part of a strategy to demoralise TMC workers and divert attention from larger economic concerns. Expressing confidence in her party’s prospects, she asserted, “We will cross 226 seats. We may even reach 230. I have full faith in the people’s mandate.” She also pointed out that exit polls had failed to accurately predict outcomes in the 2016 and 2021 Assembly elections.

 

Despite these claims, most projections suggest that the BJP may secure over 148 seats, enough to form the government. The TMC, however, has termed these predictions “baseless” and “premeditated.”

 

With counting scheduled for May 4, tensions continue to escalate across the state. The final outcome will only be determined once the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are opened, settling the contest between the ruling party’s confidence and the projections put forward by exit polls.