Political parties dismiss exit poll numbers

SHILLONG, March 1: Leaders of most political parties have expressed divergent views on the exit poll predictions.
The exit polls predicted that the NPP will emerge as the single largest party. The Shillong Times spoke to several political leaders and candidates to get their views.
The leaders of the NPP believe that the party will get more than the seats predicted. They said the party intelligently handled the anti-incumbency factor against many sitting MLAs. A leader of the party said the party assessed the winnability factor before selecting candidates in all three regions – Garo Hills, Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills.
The other parties, however, are not taking the exit polls too seriously. Some BJP leaders said the agencies, which conducted the exit polls, miscalculated. They said no party will be able to cross the 20-seat mark.
The BJP leaders said the party would bag from 8 to 11 seats. They said it might win even the East Shillong seat considering its strong vote-bank there.
Leaders of the UDP said as per the party’s assessment, it will get more seats than what the exit polls predicted.
On the other hand, TMC leaders said the exit polls seemed to have been “influenced”. They said the party expects to win 17-18 seats, mostly in Garo Hills.