INDIA bloc leaders put up brave face: People’s exit poll favours us, wait for June 4

Rubbishing the exit polls, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate told The Indian Express: “This is a government poll meant to please Mr Modi. The janata ka exit poll is out. We have already said we are winning 295 seats. The BJP is at 220 and the NDA is at 235. Our 295 seats are only going to go up because we have met our allies, we have done a mathematical analysis, everybody has given their numbers, we are absolutely certain that the people’s exit poll favours the INDIA alliance.”

Sources said it was also decided that most of the senior leaders would reach Delhi on Wednesday morning, a day after the counting day.

The Opposition bloc also decided to approach the Election Commission before counting day Tuesday with a list of demands. These include: asking it to ensure that the time of opening and closing of every balloting unit on voting day is matched with records before counting begins and officers tally their Form 17 C data without fail. It alleged that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had called as many as 150 District Magistrates and Collectors and alleged “brazen intimidation.”

“This is blatant and brazen intimidation, showing how desperate the BJP is. Let it be very clear: the will of the people shall prevail, and on June 4th, Mr. Modi, Mr. Shah, and the BJP will exit, and the INDIA Janbandhan will be victorious. Officers should not get under any pressure and must uphold the Constitution. They are under watch,” Congress communication head Jairam Ramesh said.

The meeting was aimed at sending a message that the alliance remains united. Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister, whose party contested alone against the BJP and Congress-Left alliance stayed away. So did PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti which did not have a seat-sharing pact with either the Congress or the National Conference.

Among those who attended the meeting include Kharge, senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and K C Venugopal; Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav and Ram Gopal Yadav; NCP’s Sharad Pawar; AAP national convenor and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Singh Mann; DMK’s T R Baalu; RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav; Jharkhand Chief Minister and JMM leader Champai Soren and Kalpana Soren; National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah; CPM’s Sitaram Yechury; CPI’s D Raja; Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Desai; CPI(ML)’s Dipankar Bhattacharya and VIP’s Mukesh Sahani.

The meeting saw many of leaders pointing out that the Congress’s decision to stay away from exit poll debates on television channels would send the wrong message. The Congress had announced the decision without consulting other parties, which had decided to send their spokespersons anyway. The BJP has already claimed that the Congress had conceded defeat. Subsequently, the Congress announced that leaders of the INDIA alliance including those from the Congress would participate in debates.

“We discussed several issues, especially the weaknesses and challenges that can happen at the time of counting. We have in detail discussed the instructions to be given to our workers and the care that will have to be taken during counting. As a precaution, we gave everyone directions for the day of counting and how to speak,” Kharge said after the meeting.

“We have decided. The BJP and its allies will talk a lot about exit polls and that is why there should be no confusion. Amid the narrative they are trying to set, we want to tell the people of the country the truth. The INDIA bloc will win at least 295. Maybe more, but not less. That is our calculation based on inputs from all our leaders. There is no change in the figure. This is the survey of the people, and not of us. It is based on information given to the leaders of our alliance. There are government surveys…Their friends in the media will also exaggerate the numbers. In order to tell you the truth and reality, we are keeping in front of you what the people are saying,” said Kharge.

Soren, Yechury and Akhilesh Yadav echoed this saying the next steps would be decided after June 4. Said Yadav: “The voters who were with them till now have come towards India alliance…our number has doubled and BJP’s has halved. This is the true exit poll. India alliance government is coming.”