2022 Exit Poll Results Latest News: The final phase of voting for the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh will bring down curtains on the electoral battle in five states today, which went on for almost a month. With the conclusion of the seventh phase of voting in UP, the Election Commission’s ban on publishing exit polls will also be lifted and media organisations will come up with their predictions for the Assembly elections held in five states — UP, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur — between February 10 and March 7.
While the exit polls will give an estimate of how parties have fared in the elections, the counting of votes for all five states will be held on March 10.
Exit polls are basically a poll or survey of voters exiting the polling booths after casting their votes. They are conducted by numerous organisations which use different methods for the purpose. While most of them opt for random sampling, some also use the method of systematic sampling to gauge the voters’ mood. The agencies ask people from different age groups, gender, caste, religion and region whom they voted for.
Exit polls gives a broad trend and a sense of direction as to where the mood of the nation is heading. It should also be noted that there have been various instances when exit polls predictions turned out to be wrong.
A close contest is expected in Uttar Pradesh where the ruling BJP and the opposition Samajwadi Party were locked in a fierce campaign. A similar story is expected in Punjab where the main contest is between the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). In Goa, the contest has become interesting with the entry of the Trinamool Congress and the high-intensity campaign by the AAP, while the BJP is the ruling party and Congress is the main opposition party. In Manipur, defections from ruling and opposition parties to JD(U) brought the comparatively lesser-known party into the contest. A straight fight is also expected between the BJP and the Congress in Uttarakhand.
These elections are said to set the stage for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and will also be the first indicator of whether the ‘Brand Modi’ continues to be the key to the BJP’s victory run in one poll after another since 2014.