Maharashtra election: Exit polls do not reflect people's sentiment, MVA will win with majority, says Chennithala

Most of the exit polls that predicted a landslide victory for the NDA after Lok Sabha elections and those predicted Congress' win in Haryana didn't turn out to be true, Ramesh Chennithala said

Maharashtra AICC in-charge Ramesh Chennithala rejected on Wednesday the exit polls on the possible outcome of the Maharashtra Assembly election 2024, asserting that Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is poised to clinch a comfortable majority, reported the PTI.

"Exit polls do not reflect the sentiments of people," Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala said after several pollsters gave a clear edge to the BJP-led alliances in Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly polls, while some put the MVA coalition ahead in the western state.

Most of the exit polls that predicted a landslide victory for the NDA after Lok Sabha elections and those predicted Congress' win in Haryana didn't turn out to be true, he said, according to the PTI.

"We will win Maharashtra polls with a comfortable majority. We don't believe in exit polls. Look at the Parliamentary elections and Haryana elections. The exit polls do not reflect people's sentiments," Ramesh Chennithala told PTI.

The ground reality is MVA scoring the majority and forming a government in Maharashtra, he said.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi comprises of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP SP).

Anish Gawande, spokesperson of Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), said that the exit polls should be treated with a pinch of salt.

"This election was fought at the booth level. The alliance that will be the most successful at bringing loyal voters to booths will win. Maha Vikas Aghadi will emerge as the winning alliance," he said, as per the PTI.

Voting for all 288 assembly seats was held in Maharashtra in a single phase on Wednesday. The results will be declared on Saturday.

With an estimated 60 per cent voter turnout recorded in elections, Gawande claimed the polling percentage is not higher than in Lok Sabha or in the last assembly elections, which shows that the much-touted impact of the last-minute welfare schemes was overestimated.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra recorded an estimated 60 per cent turnout in elections to 288 assembly seats on Wednesday with Naxal-hit Gadchiroli district coming on top with 69.63 per cent polling, while Mumbai City finished at bottom with 49 per cent voting, poll officials said.

Voting was held amid sporadic violence as political heavyweights, Bollywood celebrities and business leaders lined up with common citizens to exercise their franchise.

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