Lok Sabha election result: Days after exit polls predicted a sweeping victory for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the Lok Sabha elections, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi has released an audio message asking party workers not to fall for rumours and wait for the Lok Sabha elections results which will be declared on May 23. Priyanka said that the exit polls are intended to undermine the spirit of Congress workers and assured them that their hard work will definitely yield fruitful results.
Expressing fear that anti-social and disruptive elements could infiltrate into the stong rooms ahead of counting on May 23 to manipulate EVMs technically, she asked the Congress cadre to keep a strict vigil at strong rooms and counting centres to save machines. “My dear Congress workers, sisters and brothers… Don’t let rumours and exit polls discourage you. This is being done just to break your determination. It is very important that you remain alert amid all this. Please continue to keep vigil outside strongrooms and counting centres. We are confident that our combined efforts will bear fruit,” Priyanka said in her message for the Congress workers.
Almost all the exit polls have predicted an easy win for the BJP-led NDA, giving over 300 seats and leaving the Congress-led UPA far behind. The UPA is likely to get 80-126 seats, a poll of polls suggests.
Priyanka was appointed the general secretary of the Congress for eastern Uttar Pradesh just ahead of the Lok Sabha elections by her brother and party president Rahul Gandhi. She was given the responsibility of eastern Uttar Pradesh which has 40 seats, hoping that her active involvement in the campaign will help the party to revive its cadre. Uttar Pradesh is the most politically crucial state in the country which sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha.
If the exit poll data holds true, questions will be raised on the impact that Priyanka had on the party’s prospects in the region. She has campaigned extensively in the state over the last two months and if the Congress does not manage to translate it into seats, it will be seen as her failure to strike a chord with the electorate. The Congress is not a part of the Mahagathbandhan of Samajwadi Party, BSP and the RLD in the state.